Handforth Garden Village
New garden village of 1,500 new homes and 12 ha of employment land.
Handforth Garden Village
The Garden Village at Handforth will create a bespoke new village that will include 1,500 new high-quality design homes and extensive ‘green infrastructure’ – more than 40 per cent of the site will be open space, public amenity space or protected habitat for both residents and the wider public to enjoy.
It will also include a new school, up to 30 acres of employment land creating local jobs, a village centre with shops, restaurants, a hotel, and a village pub, new footpaths and cycleways, up to 175 housing units for older people who need care, and a children’s nursery.
The development is one of 14 Government designated Garden Villages through Homes England’s locally-led Garden Village Programme, which gives the scheme national recognition.
The council is the lead developer and owns around 70 per cent of the land allocated for the garden village, while the remaining 30 per cent is owned by third parties.
The site – allocated as a strategic development site in the council’s adopted Local Plan Strategy – is around 300 acres and is east of the A34, south of the A555 and will be accessed via the A34 bypass.
At the heart of the village will be an ‘all-through school’, providing both primary and secondary education, with a community hall and sports pitches located alongside it.
Of the 1,500 new homes, 30 per cent will be affordable, 5 per cent will be self-build and there will also be starter homes for young people, family homes, and accommodation for older people. This mix will help to meet local housing needs.
Employment space such as studios and offices will be available, as well as shared workspace facilities, and the village will have electric vehicle charging points and its own heat network, using sustainable energy.
There will be new wildflower grassland and playing fields, arts and heritage trails, community orchards and allotments, new trees and hedges, and new habitats which will be created by incorporating green roofs and green walls as a way of greening the village centre, residential and employment areas.
All existing ponds will be retained and improved, while new ponds will be created that will be specifically designed and maintained to maximise their biodiversity value