INCENSED Winsford residents say they are prepared for a long battle ahead in the fight against 500 new homes being built in their back yard.

Three separate proposals have been put forward to develop 50 acres of green field land bordering Oakmere Road, Chester Road and Littler Lane.

The first application, from Hallam Land, outlines plans for 180 homes towards the north east of the site and has now been formally submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC).

Developers Taylor Wimpey has also launched its consultation for a further 295 homes, while a proposal for another 50 homes is set to follow.

However, residents say the huge development will do nothing to benefit people in Winsford and have vowed to fight it all the way.

Sandra Challinor, chairman of the Over Residents Action Committee, said: “Feelings against these developments are really strong.

“We have held two meeting so far with well over 100 residents cramming into the Methodist church, so the momentum is definitely there.

“We need to fight all of these proposals separately, but if we can’t stop this first one from going through then it will be even more difficult to stop the rest.”

Residents fear the new development will put huge strain on local amenities and add to traffic along Chester Road and Delamere Street, which already suffers from congestion during peak hours.

Sandra added: “We carried out a community speed watch scheme in March and on one day we counted 1,200 cars along Chester Road in the space of just a couple of hours.

“The developers have outlined two access points from Oakmere Road and another off Littler Lane, which they say will be used for emergency vehicles only but we don’t know how they will stop other drivers from using it.

“We are also worried about the strain on local schools; we are not convinced that there is an adequate number of spaces for this development. At the moment there are only 99 places available in schools in Over.”

More than 170 people have now signed a petition opposing the plans and the committee has managed to raise enough money to fund a planning consultant to carry out a report on the development.

Chester Road resident Steve Price added: “What I can’t get my head around is the developers saying that it is going to bring more investment in the town.

“Winsford has seen many developments in recent years and things haven’t got any better.”

Anyone wanting to put their representations forward opposing the site should write to Cheshire West and Chester Council before this Friday, April 6.

Anyone wanting to sign the petition can email Sandra on oakmere_rd.committee@hotmail.co.uk