Proposal to create 400-home community on former university campus
David Wilson Homes plans to create 400 new homes on the former site of the University of Chester’s Padgate Campus, off Crab Lane.
Its plans will be subject to public consultation.
the university closed the site in 2021 after the decision was taken to relocate its facilities to a newer site, closer to Warrington town centre.
Now, David Wilson Homes is bringing forward new proposals which will repurpose the site into a thriving residential community.
The plans will repurpose an under-utilised site and provide much needed high quality housing for Padgate, as well as helping to support the future of Warrington’s sport in delivering new and upgraded sports facilities across the borough.
The proposed development will deliver approximately 400 new homes that will cater to a diverse mix of homebuyers in Warrington, delivering a range of sizes and tenures reflecting housing need locally and ensuring that all of Warrington’s residents, at all stages of life, can access high quality new homes.
The scheme will be complemented by associated parking, improved pedestrian and cycle links, and extensive landscape planting, delivering more than 2.6 hectares of open public space for the wider community to enjoy and delivering biodiversity net gain.
The regeneration of the site will also preserve the legacy of the university and its alumni at Padgate, including mitigation measures to retain the memorial trees on the campus.
Working closely with Warrington Wolves, the club’s charitable foundation and local sports clubs, David Wilson Homes is hoping to secure the long term future of Warrington’s sport. Talks are ongoing to develop a Sports Mitigation Strategy which will set out the framework to re-provide upgraded sports facilities across Warrington, including the planned relocation of Wolves’ facilities at the Padgate Campus to Victoria Park.
The local community is being invited to have its say on the plans, with a public consultation running from January 23, until February 9. Details are available at www.padgatecampus.co.uk
This site also provides a platform for local residents to submit feedback.
A David Wilson Homes spokesperson said: “We believe this redevelopment would provide a new lease of life to a previously developed site and secure a future for Warrington’s sports offer.
“We are committed to engaging with local residents to ensure the local community is involved as our plans progress. We are looking forward to receiving feedback from the local community to help shape what the future of the site could look like.”
Following the consultation period, all feedback will be analysed before a formal planning application is submitted to Warrington Borough Council.
Residents can also provide input via email at contact@padgatecampus.co.uk or by calling the Community Information Line at 0161-711 0292 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm).
