New homes could be built on the disused site of a former stately home in the green belt under new plans.
Proposals are being drawn up to build 24 homes on the site of the former Knowle House, on Sagars Road, in Handforth, which was demolished after a fire in 1996. Despite previous plans to develop the land, it has stood empty and derelict for a number of years – attracting fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.
But now landowners Ross Shenton, of the Shenton farming family in Handforth, and Alan Walker, who also lives in the village, are working with Morris Homes on plans to build new homes on the site.
Morris Homes representatives have met with Handforth Parish Council and residents from nearby Knowle Park over the initial plans, which comprise 24 homes, made up of 16 detached properties and eight smaller affordable homes.
Mr Shenton, who bought the Knowle House land with his business partner about 18 months ago, said the planning application could be submitted to Cheshire East Council as soon as next month. There will be a public consultation on the proposal before an application is submitted.
He added: “This is a useless site. It’s no good for farming or anything else and it’s better to see new homes here than on the green fields around Handforth.
“It’s in the green belt, but this is a brownfield site in the green belt.
“We’ve had a pre-application meeting with councillors and Morris Homes has a scheme drawn up which it is working on. We need affordable homes certainly but we can take some larger properties too.”
New housing is a hot topic for residents in Handforth. Cheshire East Council wants to allow a new 2,300-home settlement east of the bypass on green belt land it owns, as part of the draft Local Plan.
Coun Barry Burkhill, Handforth ward councillor, said: “It’s in the green belt so this will need to be taken into account.
“We can’t just start messing with the green belt. The most important this is we need affordable houses for rent in Handforth.” Toni Fox, from campaign group Hands off Handforth Green Belt, said: “In principal we welcome the extra homes, particularly as they will include much-needed affordable homes and social housing, without the brutal destruction of green belt, however we have yet to see detailed plans.
“We attended the presentation by the developer and the general consensus appeared to be that whilst they had no problem with the development itself they were concerned about the narrow access road, the noise this would generate and the disruption that would be caused during the build.”
History of the site Knowle House was home to the Sagar family in the 1800s.
The road is said to have been built by Henry Sagar when the railway arrived in Handforth in 1842.
The house, known originally as Southfield, was occupied by John Hunter from 1923 to 1939, when it was called Dunedin, before it was taken over by the armed forces during the war. It became a hospital for unmarried mothers and their babies until the late 1970s.
Since then there have been numerous failed planning applications on the site.
Proposals for a new private hospital were approved in 1987 but never implemented.
In 1996 an application for two 48-bedroom care homes by Eton Hall Nursing Homes was refused.
The house suffered a serious fire in the same year and was later demolished.
An application by Edward Symmons and Partners for a residential property on the footprint of the demolished house was refused in 2001.
A later application by Belmont Developments Ltd for a replacement dwelling was withdrawn.
