Decision details

The Committee considered the update report on the progress being made towards the delivery of the Garden Village Handforth since March 2025. 

The report sought approvals to enable officers to progress with the delivery of the project to enable a start on site by September 2026, prior to the expiry of the existing hybrid planning permission, and to make timely changes to the deliverability of the scheme.

A friendly amendment was proposed and seconded and accepted to Recommendation 2 to include the Chair and Vice Chair of the Economy and Growth Committee in the consultation.

RESOLVED (by majority): That the Committee

1               Approve:

i.         Revisions to the Initial Preparation and Infrastructure Works (IPIW) contract and to amend the scope and/or phasing of the existing preliminary design work to reflect changes to the delivery strategy.

ii.        To proceed with detailed design of the A34 corridor and associated work.

iii.       To carry out early construction works on the A34 corridor under the Scape National Civil Engineering Framework.

iv.       To commission Ringway Jacobs Ltd via the Council’s Highways Service Contract to provide project management, commercial support, technical approval and site supervision inputs into the construction, detailed design, and rescoped preliminary design. 

v.        To continue the stabilisation and repair works to Dairy House Farm via a North West Construction Hub framework contract in line with the decision previously taken by Committee on 26th January 2024 but allow the scope and/or phasing of works to be varied.

vi.       Amendments to the terms, conditions and milestones in the Housing Infrastructure Funding (HIF) agreements with Homes England to maximise the amount of the grant that is drawn down and applied to the project.

2.       Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Place to take all actions necessary to implement the actions approved by this Committee in consultation with the Executive Director of Resources and the Director of Governance and Compliance and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Economy and Growth Committee.