Hundreds of new homes planned for Greater Manchester garden village

A developer has submitted plans to build more than 500 new homes in a Stockport village. The scheme, by Harrow Estates, would be a major expansion of the Woodford Garden Village site with the addition of 540 new properties across 35 hectares of land within Stockport's green belt.

These will be made up of a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, and houses with three, four and five bedroom options. Half of the proposed homes would be designated as affordable housing, with social rent and affordable ownership tenures.

It includes 15 plots for self-build homes and 75 extra care homes for older people, which will also be affordable housing. Nearly 50 percent of the development has been earmarked for a mix of open accessible natural, semi-natural and amenity green space.

Woodford Garden Village first gained planning permission in 2015 and since then more than 600 homes have been built on the site of the former Woodford Aerodrome, along with the Aviator pub restaurant and Woodford Primary School.

New community spaces are part of the expansion plans, with a community hub proposed within a new square next to the Avro Heritage Museum, which includes access to local facilities such as a cafe and a community building.

A mobility hub will also be located centrally within the square to promote active travel by providing bike storage, changing facility, and cycle rental and repair, Harrow Estates said, as well as an additional area of car parking space to serve visitors to Avro Golf Club.

This would be accessed via the Garden Village, which bosses say will help to reduce traffic and congestion reported by residents on Old Hall Lane.

The planned extension to the village could also increase the size of Woodford Primary School, which was