Residents raise concerns over 400 homes plans for Padgate uni campus

Last month, David Wilson Homes said it was ‘delighted and proud’ to announce its vision for a new housing estate at the University of Chester’s former Padgate Campus, off Crab Lane.

The university closed the site in 2021 after the decision was taken to relocate facilities to a newer site in Warrington town centre.

The only part of the site still in use is the sports facilities by Warrington Wolves, which is intending to move across the town to Victoria Park.

The developer says plans for the 33-acres campus will ‘repurpose an underutilised site and provide much-needed high quality housing’, 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, catering to a diverse mix of homebuyers and delivering a range of sizes and tenures.

Residents were invited to have their say on the plans through a public consultation, which ended last week, before feedback is analysed and a formal planning application is submitted to Warrington Borough Council.

A recent consultation event was attended by a number of people, with ‘conversation heated at times’, according to the area’s PCSO who attended.

Concerns raised included parking and congestion on Crab Lane and Fearnhead Lane, as well as the introduction of a pathway from the new estate leading through to Templeton Drive.

Residents also questioned open green spaces all to the Crab Lane end of the site when there are no properties there, instead of facing Fearnhead Lane instead.

Other concerns included money being used to invest in open spaces and sports facilities not being spent in the area, and being spent instead on Victoria Park to accommodate Warrington Wolves.

It was suggested that fields opposite Crab lane and adjacent to the golf course be invested in, with sports facilities and a permanent building to replace the current green hub there.

Poulton with Fearnhead Parish Council received a presentation from David Wilson Homes last month on the proposals, including details of sporting activities on the site and plans for section 106 funding.

A vision has been unveiled for the former University of Chester Padgate campus. Picture: Google Maps

The parish council ‘expressed the earnest hope’ that the money from section 106 agreements could be used to develop facilities on parish council land, including Bennetts Recreation Ground.

A letter sent to the parish council from a resident read: “At the consultation, residents raised the additional congestion that the development is going to cause on the roads.

“One issue is of bottlenecking that causes congestion on the final single carriageway stretch of Woolston Grange Avenue, which needs to be dualled.

“Especially as the development will create approximately a further 300 vehicle movements per working day.

“I appreciate that you have considerable interest in Bennetts Rec as it is owned by the parish council, but there is only one day per year that a significant number of parish residents use it, on the Parish Fun Day.

“Most parish residents use local roads every working day, and furthermore, section 106 money should not go to work in Victoria Park because very few parish residents use it.

“The borough has had a history of allowing substantial developments without improving the road infrastructure for a number of years, which adds to the congestion.

“Let's start doing something about easing congestion in our patch, instead of making it worse by spending section 106 money from the campus on Bennetts Rec and Victoria Park.”

In announcing its vision for the site, a spokesman for David Wilson Homes said: “We are delighted to introduce our plans for a new residential development at the former University of Chester Padgate campus.

“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 residents to ensure the 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.”