Housing boom town Ellesmere Port is set to gain a further 265 homes.

Revised plans have been put forward for the long awaited development at the former war time Roften site on Hooton Road in Hooton which includes a 72-bed care home.

The large scale new build on near 18 hectares originally had approval last year with outline plans for the derelict area agreed in 2012.

The green belt site was developed in 1940 as a Royal Ordnance factory which specialised in manufacturing gun barrels for tanks.

After the Second World War it was occupied by various enterprises including the British Steel Corporation and later the Roften Galvanising Works which closed in the 1990s.

Willaston councillor Myles Hogg (Con), then the borough’s strategic planning chairman, said at one stage: “In an ideal world this site would have been decontaminated, cleaned up and turned into a light industrial park, employing hundreds of people. That dream was not to be so we must decide whether this application is acceptable.”

New homes and a care home are proposed on the cleared derelict site of the Rofton Works on Hooton Road

Planners explain the site has been cleared and the former buildings demolished.

Applicants Stewart Milne Homes, who build in Scotland and north west England, are seeking approval for minor changes to the previous permission.

The development includes a new community hall for Hooton, improvements to the shop at Hooton railway station and improvements at the junction of the A41 and Hooton Road. A village green will also feature.

There are no comments from Willaston Residents and Countryside Society and no objections from Hooton and District Residents Association.

Education officers have requested a £492,984 payment towards accommodating additional pupils from the new housing at Childer Thornton Primary School while greenspace specialists are seeking £180,000 plus towards a pitch and 10 years’ maintenance.

Four objections have been raised.

Planners argue there are very special circumstances to justify the development in the green belt including the regeneration of the derelict site and improved access to the countryside. Landscaping is included and a nature conservation area along with improvements to the nearby Wirral Way.

There will be no greater effect on the green belt than the previous approval it is suggested.

The new build will include 68 affordable homes.

Traffic will be significantly less than that from a previous permission for a business park although it will be noticeable compared to the existing position.

It is not thought this will be overbearing on roads in Willaston and beyond or on parking in the village.

Recommending approval planners confirm their view the ‘highly compelling’ benefits outweigh any harm to the green belt and very special circumstances exist. Significant weight should also be given to the previous permission.

This is subject to 40 conditions, a legal agreement and a referral to the secretary of state to consider whether there should be a public inquiry.

Long standing Ellesmere Port councillor Angela Claydon (Lab, St Paul’s), who prefers the site to be developed for housing, commented at one stage: “It is an absolute tip and has been for donkey’s years and it is an eyesore.”