In summary

Underway since late 2021, it will deliver circa 1,000 homes on 120 acres of land and is expected to take around 11 years to complete. True to Redrow’s placemaking principles for garden villages, homes will be interspersed with open spaces, green corridors and areas for play. During the course of development, Redrow will make community contributions totalling £8.5 million to Halton Council.

Technical challenges

Daresbury Garden Village is a complex project and bringing each parcel to a stage where building can begin has been a feat that required extensive planning expertise.

One of the biggest technical challenges of Daresbury Garden Village has been creating access. Originally there was no access directly between the A558 and the A56. However, a new all-movements signal controlled access has been created the north off the A558. Junction improvements to the east of the A56 will also be done alongside strategic infrastructure works, including a new road bridge over the Bridgewater Canal and creation of a spine road, which will link the two roads through the wider site.

A new access to the site will be taken from a new signal-controlled junction directly onto the A558 Daresbury Expressway to the north and from a signal controlled junction from Delph Lane to the east at a cost of £4.1 million. This work also includes widening the A558 and creation of an underpass that serves local businesses.

Plans and progress so far

Between 2012 and 2014 Redrow submitted outline planning applications for all major phases of the site, with both the northern and southern residential parcels, a local centre and 15,000m2 of employment space receiving outline planning permission in 2018, at the same time as Gleaves View phase one also receiving detailed consent.

Redrow formally acquired the first parcel of land in 2020 and work was finally able to begin on site in 2021.

Redrow has since secured detailed planning consent to allow work to begin on up to 445 homes in total (as of November 2023), while future phases are still progressing through planning, including a reserved matters application for 186 properties on the second phase of Keckwick Park, closer to the centre of the site. The second phase of Gleaves View is subject to detailed planning consent, which is earmarked for 250 homes and a local centre with potential for shops, a pub and food takeaway businesses.

Redrow in the community

During the course of development, Redrow will make community payments totalling £8.5 million to Halton Council. This funding is earmarked for:

• Converting the A558 to a dual carriageway
• Off-site affordable housing in the borough
• Support of existing bus routes and delivering a new bus link into the Daresbury Park business park
• Improvements to Runcorn East railway station
• Structural landscaping and linear park creation within the wider area, including their maintenance, plus improvements to nearby Daresbury Firs
• Creation of a pedestrian link under the West Coast Mainline and walking and cycling route connections to the site
• Contribution to the Bridgewater Way Initiative and funding towards alternative marina locations along the canal.

Separate to the community commitments agreed as part of the planning process, Redrow has also donated £10,000 to local groups, organisations and charities around Daresbury Garden Village. This has been done via a voluntary fund, with support given to local schools, a heritage group, a church institute, a horticultural society, a local residents group and a Women’s Institute, all at the very heart of the community.