Fifty-three houses and a sports hall planned for Malpas village

Plans for up to 53 new homes and a large community sports facility in the hamlet of Nomansheath just outside Malpas, could provide big benefits to the area, say developers.

Wain Homes and Emery Planning have submitted an outline application to Cheshire West and Chester Council that includes the homes, a Locally Equipped Area for Play, extensive car parking and a village hall facility that would be run by Nomansheath Parish Council for a wide range of community events.

The developments would be built on land at Bickley Lane, Macefen, near Nomansheath - about two miles from the centre of Malpas.

Richard Chamberlain, senior Land Manager for Wain Homes, spoke to The Chronicle about the proposed development and said it would be an asset to the community if it got the green light.

“We have done a lot of pre application discussion with Nomansheath Parish Council and it was put forward that the village was most in need of a village/community hall facility, as currently the parish council are renting various different halls to hold meetings, some of which are dilapidated and not very convenient,” he said.

“The plans are to build up to homes, of which 53 would be the maximum. Of these, 30% would be affordable.

“It would be nice to have one single focus in the village that is run by the parish council and we have agreed in principle to provide this,” he added.

Mr Chamberlain explained that illustrative plans based on guidance by Sport England had been drawn up with the idea to formulate a facility for multi-sports use including football and table tennis, as an example.

It would also have meeting rooms and space to hold evening classes and local fitness groups, as well as ‘endless opportunities’ or ‘whatever the locals wanted to use it for.’

A ‘substantial’ area of car parking would be included in the community hall development, with separate parking for the housing area.

But there will not be an expected decision on the application until around March, after which detailed plans will be drawn up with the parish council to determine the centre’s format.

It will be considered by Nomansheath and District Parish Council at a meeting on Thursday, January 14 at 7pm where the developers are due to attend with plans. These will be available to view by the public from 6.30pm.