Proposal to replace office building with crowdfunded apartment development

by Lisa Reeves

Monday 17^th October 2016

Mon 17^th Oct 2016

Plans have been submitted to change the use of an office building in the town centre and replace it with a block of apartments.

Hale-based property crowdfunding platform, The House Crowd, has applied to build 22 apartments at Citation House on Macclesfield Road.

The scheme comprises of 6 two-bedroom apartments, 12 one-bed units and 4 studio flats, along with 22 car parking spaces.

The plans can be viewed on the Cheshire East Council website by searching for planning reference 16/4952M. The deadline for submitting comments is 9th November and a decision is expected by 8th November.

Tags:: Planning Applications

Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Roger Bagguley

Monday 17^th October 2016 at 9:48 pm

Good news. Not only a brown site but a plan to convert one of those unwanted empty offices. People living in the town could make such a difference. Make it loved and a vibrant place to be. I am up for more of this.

DELETED ACCOUNT

Tuesday 18^th October 2016 at 8:14 am

This is what should be happening. We have to accept that large office blocks are no longer desirable for companies because so much work is done from home. In Wilmslow there are masses of offices standing empty, close to all facilities, which could easily be converted into quality accommodation. The link road down to the A34 is a prime example with two office blocks at the front which seem to be minimally occupied. These would make beautiful flats but why would developers do this when Cheshire East is willing to give them our green fields?

My only concern over citation house is whether they have factored in enough parking for the proposed flats.

Manuel Golding

Tuesday 18^th October 2016 at 2:46 pm

RoW has, on numerous occasions over the past 3 or 4 years, been citing such a change of use regime for empty offices within the Borough and Wilmslow in particular. With in the region of 170,000 sq ft of empty office space, there is more than adequate opportunity to meet the LPS's housing need and "employment" requirements for the town and area.
CECs planners really need to awake from their self induced slumber and start talking to the owners of empty offices about conversions. The planners have much preferred to sit back and play the developers' agents & builders game of "evermore Green Belt land".
Citation House is a most refreshing alternative and should lead the way for more conversions.

Roger Thawley

Wednesday 19^th October 2016 at 3:55 pm

This also strikes me as a sensible proposal though I too question if there is adequate parking provision within the submitted plans - the site currently has provision for around 60 vehicles, so it doesn't look like it would be much of a challenge to amend the landscaping, so as to accommodate a more realistic figure somewhere between 30 and 40.

James Manlaws

Thursday 20^th October 2016 at 10:41 am

Great news from a regeneration prospective but putting all this into context, isn't this just creating a conflict of interest? In the capacity of a developer the crowdfunding platform will be looking to maximise their profit, by achieving the highest price. Therefore, how can they remain objective in offering buy-to-let investors an attractive investment opportunity? They will also be taking the developer margin and a crowdfunding fee on top of the sales price. It is clear who the real winner will be in this scenario.

Lisa Reeves

Tuesday 25^th October 2016 at 4:30 pm

Crowd House Developments have submitted a revised planning application to increase the number of apartments and parking spaces at Citation House.

The revisions include creating an additional two apartments on the ground floor, by in filling an existing drive through, along with alterations to the roof to provide two additional apartments on the second floor.

They also propose further roof alterations to provide balconies to three apartments on the second floor level.

The revised plans can be viewed on the Cheshire East Council website http://bit.ly/2bypcYD by searching for planning reference 16/5123M.