MORE food units than initially billed could take up residence at the new Winnington Village ‘district centre’, should altered plans be approved.

The Winnington Urban Village Development company (WUVD) has applied to Cheshire West and Chester Council to up the number of restaurant, café or takeaway units from two to three.

The proposed centre –

approved in October 2017

– includes a convenience store, children’s day nursery, pub-restaurant, and community building, as well as a row of six retail units for use as shops, food outlets and a vet’s.

Northwich Guardian:

The row of six initially had a condition stating it could include no more than two food units, which CWAC planners said was to ‘ensure a diverse range of facilities for the local community’.

But WUVD now wants to up that figure to three.

The site sits off Walker Road within the Winnington Village development, which – when complete – will site 1,200 homes.

Northwich Guardian:

Despite the increase – and its inclusion in the initial outline plans for the scheme – WUVD is not expected to build a school.

As a result, Winnington Park

last year added eight new classrooms

and Charles Darwin has increased its pupil roll.

Cllr Sam Naylor, who sits on CWAC and Northwich Town Council, highlighted the concerns when the scheme was approved in 2017.

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“The bottom line is when you have the volume of houses that now exists in Winnington, it’s a positive step that people can use these facilities,” he said.

“It will bring jobs to the area and make life a lot easier for people who live there.

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“My main disappointment is that the original plans for Winnington Urban Village were to have a school there too, but that’s gone by the wayside for one reason or another

"It also means kids have to travel further, and there are safety concerns involved with that.”

In its initial planning application, WUVD said the scheme would create the equivalent of 64 full-time jobs, and would come with a total of 108 parking spaces provided.