Cheshire Peaks & Plains Housing Trust are delighted to have held an official opening of their first new housing development, Crockatt House.

The block of eight, two-bedroomed apartments is on Cumberland Street, Macclesfield, opposite Sainsburys. The official opening was held on Friday 18th June, with MP David Rutley unveiling the date stone.

The apartments will help to meet the high demand for good quality, affordable housing for rent in Macclesfield. They will also be some of the most eco-friendly homes in the North West, with a wide range of environmentally friendly features, such as solar tiles to generate electricity, improved insulation and energy efficient boilers.

The block has been named Crockatt House in honour of Councillor Jim Crockatt, who as former Chair of Housing at Macclesfield Borough Council played a vital role in setting up the Trust and in developing social housing in the area. He has also been a Board member of the Trust since its launch.

Chief Executive Tim Pinder says “We are delighted to be opening Crockatt House, our first new homes. This is just one of a series of developments underway at the Trust, as we have ambitious plans to build 300 new homes in the next five years. We have a large waiting list of people who need housing and we simply do not have enough properties to meet demand. In fact, we have received almost 200 applications for Crockatt House already!

“Our last Audit Commission inspection said that we had excellent prospects for the future, and an important part of our future is our plans to build new homes for those in housing need. I am sure that this will be the first of many successful developments by the Trust.”