THE influx of new houses off Warmingham Lane could increase to more than 1,100 as a new proposal for 270 more homes has been announced.

Gladman Developments has revealed its intention to build ‘approximately 270’ houses on land immediately next to the Morris Homes development which is currently under construction.

Morris Homes is in the process of building 194 homes off Warmingham Lane, Bellway Homes’ 149-home development is under construction, as is Persimmon Homes’ 77-home development, and the 450-home Glebe Farm development off Booth Lane, was given approval last year.

Together with the other four sites in the area, Gladman’s proposed 270 houses would make a total of 1,140 new houses in the Cledford end of Middlewich.

Gladman wrote to Middlewich Town Council to inform it off their intention and said it would consult with nearby residents via a leaflet, ‘shortly.’

The letter from Gladman stated: “I write to advise you that Gladman Developments is proposing an outline planning application for approximately 270 new homes at the above location [land off Warmingham Lane].

“We are keen to engage in pre-application consultation with the local community and will shortly be undertaking consultation with nearby residents to the site by distributing a consultation leaflet detailing our proposals to nearby households and businesses.

“Our clear intention is that where benefits are sought by the town council, if it is reasonable and viable, then we would be happy to assist in the delivery of such provision.”

Based on the electorate roll, the population of the Cledford ward in Middlewich is thought to be less than 6,000 and is likely to be increased by around 50 per cent with the new residential estates.

Cheshire East Council Middlewich ward member, Cllr Mike Parsons, said that with the huge increase of the town’s population, public transport to and from Middlewich needs to be addressed.

Cllr Parsons said: “We’re going to end up with more than a thousand new houses off Warmingham Lane and all those residents down there are off the bus route.

So we’ve got a high percentage of Middlewich residents who don’t have access to a bus route.

“We’re going to end up with a population in excess of 15,000 in Middlewich after these houses. We’re not a small town anymore and with the level of excess housing, the residents have a right to a direct bus service to Crewe and Northwich.

“The larger the population of Middlewich grows, the greater the need for people to be able to get to and from it quickly and easily and that means public transport.”

Cllr David Williams represents the Cledford ward on Middlewich Town Council and said he is concerned with the lack of infrastructure in the town.

Cllr Williams said: “As with all developments in Middlewich, my concern is that we don’t have the infrastructure to deal with it. The bypass is a big part of that, but also doctors’ surgeries and schools. These are all services that are becoming more and more under pressure.

“We have not had any new road infrastructure in 15 to 20 years and it’s just getting worse and worse. We’re at virtual gridlock all of the time.”