53 new homes will be built there

The car park will close next month(Image: )

A town centre car park will close next month to allow new homes to be built. Construction work at the Lacy Street pay-and-display site, in Stretford, is set to begin on Monday, February 16.

This will initially involve site investigations and the diversion of utility pipes in the area. Eventually, 53 homes will be built on the land, which was previously occupied by a Royal Mail sorting office.

Trafford Council, which is behind the scheme, has said the properties are “much-needed” locally, with all planned to be wheelchair accessible and a quarter of them classed as “affordable”. However, when permission was granted for the development in December, it left councillors torn.

53 new homes will be built(Image: )

Members of the planning committee raised concerns the proposal conflicts with the local authority’s own design code and will result in a ‘significant’ loss of trees. Several councillors expressed worries over a ‘significant loss’ of trees as a result of the scheme and a lack of density of the development, meaning more homes could be built there.

Trafford Council has said replacement trees will be planted later in the scheme, with additional trees and shrubs also to be provided off-site.

Issues of noise and pollution and the fact that the frontages of the properties may be too close to the A56 were also raised as criticism. Ultimately, however, members approved the plan after a proposal to refuse it was voted down.

There will be 10 two-bed houses, 25 three-bed townhouses, 12 four-bed townhouses on the site once work is complete, as well as two apartment blocks totalling six two-bed apartments, some two and three storeys high. Amenity space, car parking and cycle parking are also part of the plan.

Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s executive member for economy and regeneration, said: “These new homes are much-needed in the area and we’re delighted that work can now start on the site following consultation and planning processes. This development ties in with the Council’s priority for facilitating good-quality homes for all, and putting brownfield land to new use, to benefit communities.”