Consultation opened on £20m plan for Wilmslow retirement living scheme

Retirement living developer, McCarthy Stone, has acquired an interest in land at Wilmslow Police Station, as part of plans to develop a £20m scheme.It is bringing forward plans to redevelop the site with retirement accommodation specially designed to meet the needs of people in later life.It comes as Cheshire Constabulary seeks to develop a replacement police facility at the site currently occupied by the station. The redevelopment will free up part of the site for alternative use.Offers were invited for the redevelopment of the site in February this year.McCarthy Stone’s proposal would deliver a sensitively designed development of around 55 retirement living apartments that would be situated near local shops and services, with on-site parking, and landscaped gardens.Feedback from the local community is being sought through a virtual consultation which is available until December 12 at .McCarthy Stone said it is committed to engaging with the local community and has offered meetings to close neighbours of the site to give them an opportunity to discuss the initial proposals via one-to-one meetings.Ian Wilkins the divisional managing director North, McCarthy Stone, said: “Our plans provide a fantastic opportunity to deliver much-needed retirement living accommodation on a site allocated for housing. The site is ideally located for residents to access local shops and services, with connectivity to public transport links across the wider region.“Our developments have wider benefits for the local economy, with our residents typically using local shops and services. This new community will, therefore, provide a vital boost to businesses in Wilmslow, helping to support local retail jobs and keep shops open.”He added: “We are encouraged by comments from residents so far and would like to hear local views on our proposals before we finalise our planning application. I’d encourage people to go online and view the proposals, where they’ll be able to complete our online feedback form.”Feedback will help McCarthy Stone to understand local thoughts and suggestions ahead of submitting a planning application to Cheshire East Council.