Spring start for major roads and housing scheme

Cheshire East Council is to start work on a major new roads and housing scheme in the borough in the new year.

The project could see more than 1,200 homes built and a new road network that will give a further boost to the local economy, with improved connectivity between the Leighton area and Crewe.

The council’s strategic planning board has resolved to approve outline applications relating to two separate housing schemes, totalling 1,250 new homes.

Known as the North West Crewe Package, the highway scheme will support the delivery of a sustainable community with new local services, green infrastructure, allotments, walking and cycle links, outdoor sports and recreation facilities and a new school. It is part of an extensive strategic site development for Leighton, as part of the council’s approved Local Plan Strategy.

The new road scheme is designed to ease congestion in the area and improve access to Leighton Hospital and – in the long term – the Bentley campus. Planning consent for the proposed highways network was granted in 2019.

Developers are expected to bring forward further planning applications in the future, including proposals for shops, eateries and a new primary school. The development will bring forward a range of new housing, including two, three and four-bedroom homes and apartments plus new highway and pedestrian links to the existing community.

Councillor Craig Browne, Cheshire East Council deputy leader with responsibility for strategic infrastructure, said: “This new road network will help to ease traffic congestion in the Leighton area and create quicker routes to the hospital. A total of 1.8 miles of new road will be built, together with roundabouts and new access routes to the development sites.

“The whole project is evidence of our commitment to deliver economic growth in and around Crewe, and is a further addition to the many infrastructure schemes we have delivered in recent years, including the reshaping of the Crewe Green Roundabout to relieve the bottleneck there, widening of the Sydney Road Bridge and the building of new roads to the east of Crewe, along with the planned dualling of the A500 to the M6.”

Councillor Nick Mannion, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for environment and regeneration, said: “This represents another milestone in the economic regeneration of Crewe and its surrounding area and is further proof of the council’s complete commitment to the town and its residents.

“We expect to see a variety of new homes – including affordable homes – and the development of a new mixed community with the right level of local infrastructure, including a new school and retail outlets.

“We are working closely with the hospitals trust as the borough’s Local Plan Strategy has set aside additional land for any further expansion of Leighton Hospital. A new spine road linking Minshull New Road and Smithy Lane, will improve access to the hospital, particularly for emergency vehicles.”

Initial ground works could begin as soon as the spring with ecology and environmental mitigation preparations. Road construction could be completed in under two years with housing development following on.

For further information visit: https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/highways_and_roads/roadworks/major-projects/north-west-crewe-package-nwcp.aspx

Pictured - Highway scheme.