POTENTIAL new homes at Winnington Works could provide the opportunity to help the council to address the current climate emergency and housing crisis.

This is according to Witton Councillor Sam Naylor, who made the claim at a public meeting over Tata exploring the possibility of building 1,200 new homes at Winnington Works.

In response to a question raised by a resident on the environment, Cllr Naylor said that he would like to see the new homes, if they go ahead, built in a way that takes it into account.

CWAC joined the list of local authorities declaring a climate emergency in May last year.

“CWAC has declared that there is a climate emergency and it is really serious,” he said.

“The older you get, the more you look into it and the more concerned you get.

“There is an opportunity with this development, if it goes ahead, to focus on the climate emergency facing us.

“I would like to see houses designed and built to be climate friendly, and we’ve got to be using the existing rail tracks and the river more.”

The ways that homes could address this issue were discussed at the meeting, and include the fitting of solar panels on rooftops and water reclamation systems.

Cllr Naylor has also previously called for rail links at the Works to be utilised and for water taxis to run along the River Weaver from Winnington to Barons Quay.

Also at the meeting, another resident raised the prospect of young people being pushed out of Northwich due to high house prices at the potential development.

They said: “I moved to Northwich from Chester a number of years ago because it was becoming too expensive for housing there.

“The same thing will happen in Northwich if we are not careful.”

In response, Cllr Naylor said: “All of the country is facing a housing crisis, with 8,000 families on the waiting list in Cheshire West and Chester for social housing.

“There is a real need for more affordable housing, and that is something that we will push for if plans are submitted.”