Work on Winsford's Wharton Green estate drawing to a close

The new Wharton Green estate has been built on vacant brownfield land between Bostock Road, Smokehall Lane and Deakins Road.

'Saplings', as the new development is also known, was built as a partnership between Cheshire West and Chester Council, QWest Homes, Equans and ForLiving.

On the estate is a mixture of affordable, low-carbon two, three and four-bedroom homes, suited for first-time buyers, professionals, and young families.

Cllr Nathan Pardoe, cabinet member for inclusive economy, regeneration & digital transformation at CWAC, said: "The partnership between Equans, Cheshire West and Chester Council, QWest and ForLiving has delivered quality homes in Winsford for families, with a real sense of community.

"I'm particularly proud of the new social housing, public open spaces and zero-carbon pilot plots. Thank you to the staff in each organisation who have made this possible."

All homes feature electric vehicle charging points as standard and the scheme, which provides an open space community focal point, has also seen improvements to local highway infrastructure.

Cllr Nathan Pardoe (second from left) alongside the team from Equans, ForLiving and QWest (Image: Equans)

Five of Wharton Green’s homes are carbon net-zero and built to Future Homes Standard, which includs building fabric enhancements and energy efficient technologies to reduce regulated in-use carbon by 100 per cent.

Smart Buildings Technology has also been installed to monitor the performance of the plots and verify carbon expenditure, with the aim of saving the residents of those five properties between £500 and £1,000 per year on bills, depending on energy costs, the size of the home and appropriate use of its facilities.

Ryan James, new build director at Equans, said: "It’s great to see work on Wharton Green drawing to a close, with the scheme already creating a real sense of community in Winsford.

"These sustainable plots are providing much-needed affordable homes, with the zero-carbon pilot plots paving the way for future schemes."

Ben Cummins, managing director at QWest, said: “QWest is proud of not only the homes that have been built, but also the community which is beginning to form.

"I'd like to extend my thanks to all the staff who have worked tirelessly to make this scheme the success it is."

Paul Gerrard, director of ForLiving, which has built 60 new homes for shared ownership at the site, said: "We’re really proud of the shared ownership homes we’ve built as part of the wider community at Wharton Green.

"These high-quality homes offer families a flexible, affordable way to achieve their dream of becoming homeowners.

"We are looking forward to welcoming people as they move in and start a new chapter of their lives here."