Key proposals for the South Macclesfield Development Area have been made public, with an upcoming event set to provide further detail.

The local council has invited residents to an exhibition and has scheduled a consultation on a draft version of the proposals.

A planning application for the site, which stretches across some 63 hectares, has been put forward; it would include 400 homes, a supermarket and a relocation or upgrade of existing playing fields.

A second stage may also be on the cards, and this could possibly see recreation facilities introduced, as well as an additional 600 homes.

That is a potential 1,000 new homes to be built as part of the development project, which will certainly prick up the ears of Cheshire builders currently looking for work.

The document comes after a decision made by the council earlier in 2013 to buy land that it doesn’t currently own.

The plans include a newly-built junction; a primary connection point on Congleton Road which would provide a link to nearby London Road.

Cheshire East leader, Cllr Michael Jones, clearly sees the benefits of the proposals. He explained:

“Bringing jobs, businesses and housing to this site has been mooted for around 20 years and there have been many false starts.

“These SMDA phase-one proposals are key to unlocking the potential of the wider 63-hectare site and would complement the £100m Silk Street town centre regeneration.”

An outline of the planning application has been suggested for submission on January 17. The completed proposals can now be seen on the website for Cheshire East.