Our proposals

Bloor Homes are pleased to bring forward our initial plans for around 200 new homes, as well as significant landscape improvements on land at Prestbury Road in Macclesfield.

The site

The site provides a suitable opportunity for residential growth in Macclesfield, within 1 mile and a 15-minute walk of Macclesfield District General Hospital. It lies immediately adjacent to the northern edge of the existing town settlement boundary and comprises c.16 hectares of mostly open arable land, with occasional trees and tree belts.

The new development will have access to a range of facilities and infrastructure already in place, as well as facilitating easy access to larger employment locations within and around Macclesfield via sustainable modes of transport, including bus route 19 between Prestbury and Macclesfield.

Wider site context (click to enlarge)

New homes

Around 200 new homes are proposed, featuring a mix of types and tenures to meet a variety of local needs. This includes properties ranging from one to four bedrooms in size, with 45% affordable housing provision.  As part of the affordable offer, we are considering different options for including some specialist accommodation. This could include dedicated homes for older people or local key-worker housing to support local public services. The homes will be built to low carbon standards, and provide a wealth of choices for everyone to find the right home. The development will comprise housing of a high-quality architectural character, complementing the surrounding setting.

Landscape-led design

The adjacent Upton Wood will provide enclosure to the site and the natural separation between the new housing and the open countryside. Similarly, the site will also incorporate a minimum 15m offset from Upton Wood to respect and maintain the current setting.

The River Bollin Valley will be preserved and enhanced through biodiversity improvements, including the creation of new wet and dry habitats. Existing trees and hedgerows will be retained across the site, with the only exceptions being two small trees and a short section of hedgerow along Prestbury Road, which will be removed and replaced to enable access. The proposals include extensive new planting, new accessible green spaces, and the creation of  sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to enhance the character of the overall development while also managing surface run off and increasing the site's biodiversity.

Alongside landscape enhancements, at least a 10% biodiversity net gain will be achieved through on-site measures, ensuring the development supports environmental sustainability in the local area.

Highways, access and parking

The proposed development would be accessed via Prestbury Road. New cycle and pedestrian pathways will be delivered to provide new public access through the site towards Macclesfield Riverside Park.

1 The UK’s Office for National Statistics defines GVA as: “Gross Value Added (GVA) is a measure of the increase in the value of the economy due to the production of goods and services”. Please note that the GVA estimates presented here are workplace-based, where GVA is allocated to the area in which the economic activity takes place.

Economic benefits the proposed scheme could deliver for Macclesfield and Cheshire East (click to enlarge)

Frequently asked questions

The site and planning

  • The site is located on land at Prestbury Road, immediately adjacent to the northern edge of the existing Macclesfield settlement boundary.

  • To the north/north west (and outside of the site boundary) is an area of ancient woodland - Upton Wood - and beyond this lies Upton Hall set within predominantly open agricultural land. The River Bollin runs through the Macclesfield Riverside Park Local Nature Reserve just beyond the site’s north-eastern boundary. Residential properties are located to the south and east.

  • The site comprises c.16 hectares of mostly open arable land with occasional trees and tree belts.

  • An outline planning application has been submitted to Cheshire East Council. Further details about the plans will be brought forward in the future as part of reserved matters planning applications.

  • This site provides an opportunity to deliver new housing in a sustainable location that meets local needs in the immediate term.

    The Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy 2010 – 2030 planned for 4,250 new homes to be delivered in Macclesfield (including allocated and non-allocated sites). However, despite being almost 15 years through the 20-year plan period, only 2,261 new homes have been delivered in Macclesfield (as of 31st March 2024). This under delivery does not reflect a reduction in need, but is as a result of the slow rate at which land allocated for housing has received planning permission and progressed to construction.

    Similarly, the new Government has recently consulted on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which is integral to its ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes within the five-year Parliamentary term. The changes proposed re-introduce mandatory housing requirements and change the ‘standard method’ for calculating housing need. This change results in a significant increase to Cheshire East’s local housing need compared to the current method.

    Bloor Homes’ proposals for around 200 homes will make a much-needed contribution to meeting Cheshire East’s housing targets and increased housing requirements proposed through national planning reform.

Highways and access

  • The proposed vehicular access for the site comes from Prestbury Road. New cycle and pedestrian pathways will also be provided to increase access towards Macclesfield Riverside Park.

  • As this is an outline application, so the final details are not set at this stage. This will be resolved at the reserved matters planning stage. The scheme will be designed to meet Council standards including width of roads and number of parking spaces.

Housing

  • Around 200 new homes are included as part of the plans, featuring a mix of types and tenures to meet a variety of local needs. This includes properties ranging from one to four bedrooms in size, with at least 50% affordable housing provision. As part of the affordable offer, we are considering different options for including some specialist accommodation. This could include dedicated homes for older people or local key-worker housing to support local public services. We are actively seeking to engage local stakeholders, including education facilities and Macclesfield District General Hospital, to understand their needs and demands.

    The exact split of tenures would be determined as part of future reserved matters applications.

  • Yes. The proposals will include 45% affordable homes. The final details are to be agreed at the reserved matters stage of the planning process.

  • The development will strive to include a range of measures which support sustainable development, providing economic, social and environmental benefits in line with national and local planning requirements. We commit to meeting the Future Homes Standards, focusing on carbon reduction and low carbon renewable energy provision.

  • Best practice urban design principles state that as a minimum, the back-to-back distance between properties must be 21m (i.e. a minimum garden length of 10.5m for individual properties). At present, some of the properties adjoining the eastern boundary of the site along Bollinbarn Drive have fairly shallow gardens. To establish a further degree of separation between the proposed and existing properties, an additional 5m ‘no build’ easement will be added to the rear of proposed gardens along the eastern boundary of the site. This is set within the proposed Parameters Plan, which is the plan that establishes the basic design requirements for the site.

    The 5m ‘no build’ easement will be landscaped and could either be incorporated into the gardens of proposed properties or gifted to the existing residents of Bollinbarn Drive as garden extensions.

    This landscape treatment, coupled with the existing depths of gardens along Bollinbarn Drive, establishes back-to-back distances of at least 24m-26m between the proposed properties and the majority of existing properties along Bollinbarn Drive.

    To provide additional mitigation, the Illustrative Masterplan proposes eight bungalows along the eastern site boundary to further minimise potential overlooking or overshadowing.

Heritage

  • The potential impact of the development on the significance of nearby heritage assets has been considered from an early stage in the design process. Grade II listed Upton Hall and the Prestbury Road Macclesfield Conservation Area have informed informed the proposed layout and extent of the residential development zone, which has been pulled considerably away from Prestbury Road to the south west and the ancient woodland to the north and west. This will reduce the visibility of the proposed dwellings from within the immediate context of the heritage assets to ensure that their semi-rural setting is preserved.

    The planning application will be supported by a Heritage Statement.

Flooding

  • An attenuation basin has been located in the north-eastern field of the site. To manage rainwater runoff from the development, a drainage strategy has been developed that routes surface water via a sustainable drainage system (SuDs) and the site’s natural topography into the attenuation basin, whilst ensuring not to increase wider runoff rates or risks of flooding elsewhere.

Construction and future development

  • A Construction Management Plan will be agreed with Cheshire East Council prior to any construction beginning, which would address many potential issues from the outset.