AN appeal decision which stopped Winnington Urban Village developers paying less towards infrastructure has been hailed as a victory for residents by their MP.

Developers behind the 1,200-home regeneration project took Cheshire West and Chester Council all the way to the Court of Appeal in an attempt not to include ground rents with their profits when calculating how much money to hand over in Section 106 contributions.

Their appeal was rejected by the court – and Mike Amesbury, Labour MP for Weaver, believes it was a 'significant legal victory' for his constituents.

"Since becoming MP for Weaver Vale my postbag has been filled with the concerns of residents about the lack of infrastructure in the Winnington area," he said.

"Despite the ground rents they're expected to pay, residents often found that their estate still didn't have the very basics that any community needs.

"Section 106 agreements are a vital part of 'the deal' that a developer makes with any council.

"If they're permitted to build and make money from a housing project, they must provide the cash needed to also provide the infrastructure that goes with it."

Winnington Urban Village has been constructed by a consortium of major developers – Morris Homes, David Wilson Homes, Barratt Homes and Taylor Wimpey.

They insisted the original financial agreement from 2008 was 'too burdensome' and came to a new agreement with CWAC in 2013 – based on a portion of the developers' profits following completion on the 300th house.

This included the opportunity for the council to challenge the sums if it did not agree with them – which CWAC chose to do over the issue of ground rents not being included.

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After an expert found in the council's favour, the developers took CWAC to High Court last year and lost, before losing an appeal last month.

Lord Justice Rabinder Singh said the developers were 'unable to provide any sound commercial reason' for excluding ground rents from their profits, and ruled that they should be included.