£200m plans unveiled for student village

Students in Chester could soon be housed in a £200m purpose built village on the outskirts of the city.

Developers in Chester have unveiled the plans for greenbelt land between Blacon and Mollington - within walking distance of the main university campus.

Bell Developments believe it would help to move some of the student population from the city's suburbs but critics have warned it will never get the go ahead because of the greenbelt land.

Mickle Trafford Councillor Brian Crowe said:

"This is going nowhere.

"I'm a planner and we have a greenbelt policy which says you need to have a special case and there can be no other alternatives.

"It is not a special case and there are alternatives that are closer to the University and far more suitable."

Dave Bell, the Managing Director of Bell Developments knows getting planning permission on greenbelt land will be tough.

He said:

"There is a very big case for us to prove that the benefit outweighs the loss of some of our greenbelt.

"That is the planning case that we now have to put together."

Mr Bell also added that other cities are building this kind of facility.

He added:

"Chester loses out to other cities - York has just done it, building on greenbelt land and that is a very historical city similar to Chester."