HOUSING developer Taylor Wimpey has been given permission to build a further 280 houses off Oakmere Road in Winsford.

The housing giant has recently completed its 180-home site on land between Chester Road and Oakmere Road.

It has now received planning permission from Cheshire West and Chester Council to continue with plans to add a further 280 houses next to the completed development and nearer to Littler Lane, making the total size of the development 460 properties.

The two applications next to each other on the 18 hectare green land, were submitted in 2012 and were both granted outline permission three years ago.

The 180-home application was then granted permission for reserved matters and Taylor Wimpey has now completed the development.

An application for reserved matters in relation to the separate larger outline application was then submitted in December last year.

Isla Longmuir, senior planner at HOW Planning, which worked on behalf of Taylor Wimpey to secure the planning approval, said: “The plans for this new development will provide much needed new housing which will be well integrated with the surrounding area.

“The housing will make a positive contribution towards Cheshire West and Chester Council’s housing target and both new and existing residents will benefit from the open space and new cycleways which will be developed as part of the scheme.”

The site will be joined onto the new existing houses and will also have access from Littler Lane.

The scheme will comprise a combination of mews, semi-detached and detached houses, with 84 affordable units.

The access from Littler Lane sparked complaints from members of the public, who voiced concerns about high volume of traffic from the narrow residential road.

Nicholas Cox, a resident objecting to the plans, said: “When the houses were being developed in Foxfield Lane that connected to the original Littler Lane, these extra few properties were deemed too much for Littler Lane to handle and thus Littler Lane was deliberately restricted by the council with the use of permanent concrete bollards to prevent vehicles from having full access.

“This effectively made Littler Lane a dead-end if approached from Chester Road side. The reasoning behind this restriction not only reflected safety to the infants’ nursery but also to the safety of the primary school that is located just down the road on Delamere Street. Littler Lane is viewed purely as a vehicular surface is only single width and is at its limits already to the residents that dwell on it.”

The amount of houses being served by Littler Lane was then reduced from 50 to 36.

The area was identified as suitable for housing in the Winsford Neighbourhood Plan.

There will also be public open space included in the site.