Housebuilder submits plans Heaton Mersey retirement scheme

Flintshire-based Anwyl Homes has submitted a planning application for an 82-home retirement development off Didsbury Road in Heaton Mersey.

The housebuilder is proposing to build 10 semi-detached properties, and 72 retirement apartments on the site of the former Focus School in Heaton Mersey. The developer acquired the site in April this year and revealed its plans for the plot.

The retirement apartments will include 37 one-bedroom homes, and 35 two-bedroom homes available through a 100% affordable scheme of Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) tenure for residents over 55 and requiring specialist accommodation. The scheme will be managed by a local registered housing provider.

The semi-detached homes, set to be sold on the open market, will house four bedrooms across four-storey split-level properties, each with private gardens and two parking spaces.

Planning permission had previously been granted for 34 dwellings on the site in 2020, however, Anwyl’s plans will see the housing density more than doubled. Despite this, wooded areas at the West of the site will be retained for public use and to provide wetland habitat to deliver a net biodiversity gain. Developers also anticipate making a £60,000 contribution to upgrade nearby sporting facilities as part of a Section 106 agreement to compensate for the loss of the former Focus School’s playing fields.

A pre-planning consultation with the local community took place in March and April 2022 and has informed Anwyl Homes’ plans for the scheme to bring the Focus School site back into use after closing in 2019.

Commenting at the time of the acquisition of the site, Sam Oliver, land director at Anwyl Partnerships, said:

“The Focus school site represents an exceptional acquisition for Anwyl and is a continuation of our activities and investment in Stockport and the wider Greater Manchester region.

“The former proposals which obtained planning consent more than two years ago will need to be reconsidered to ensure we create a viable scheme that can unlock the site, delivering much needed housing in Stockport through our flexible mixed tenure approach. “

Mosaic Town Planning acted as planning consultant for Anwyl Homes. Lovelock Mitchell are architects on the scheme.