A cross-party call to ask Cheshire West and Chester Council to expedite estate adoptions and to take action on privately managed estates has been voted through at July 2026’s Full Council meeting.
Proposed by Councillor Katie Kendrick OBE (Netherpool, Lab) and Seconded by Cllr Lynn Stocks (Weaver and Cuddington, Con), a motion titled “Supporting Commonhold, Leasehold Reform, and Tackling Privately Managed Estates” tasked Council to “Write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government setting out this Council’s position and calling for urgent legislative and regulatory action, highlighting how delays in Leasehold reform legislation is having a direct impact on residents in Cheshire West and Chester. Also calling for statutory timescales for estate adoption, enhanced enforcement powers for councils, mandatory transparency on developer bonds and obligations and financial penalties for unreasonable delays in completing adoptable works.”, as well as establishing a cross-party group to examine privately managed residential estates within the borough.
Speaking on her support for the motion, whose Weaver and Cuddington ward has two unadopted estates, Cllr Lynn Stocks explained why she was: “…delighted to second this motion, as some of the points raised have a huge impact on the residents in my ward, in particular unadopted housing developments, which I recently came across and was horrified to see the conditions people are living in. There are two such developments in my ward; one is Eden Grange which has been unadopted for 10 years, and Forest Edge for around 13 years.
“I am fairly certain that these families bought their homes in good faith, believing they were moving onto completed developments with safe roads, effective drainage, adequate and reliable street lighting and well-maintained public spaces. Instead, they are living with flooding, inadequate sewage capacity, poor lighting and infrastructure that remains unadopted for many years.
“There needs to be more transparency, more accountability, and residents should know what action is being taken, why delays may have occurred, and a timeframe when they can expect their estates to be completed and adopted.”
Also speaking on the debate, Cllr Dan Marr (Davenham, Moulton and Kingsmead, Con) explained that: “Despite repeated conversations with Council officers (regarding the adoption of 4 estates in Davenham, Moulton and Kingsmead, which has been a focus since his election in May 2023), they are often frustrated by a lack of co-operation with the housing developers who have been, made their money and now long gone, only allocating certain amounts of budget each financial year to spend – which, naturally, gets spent in February and March before year end, meaning it’s a complete bunfight for this smattering of support.
“And, of course, this problem is only going to grow in years to come. With over 21,000 houses in the backlog of planning decisions, we are going to see maybe 100 or more locations across Cheshire West which could be trapped in limbo for decades. Brand new residents, excited to move into their first homes, downsizing or upsizing are walking into ticking time bombs for costs and management. The developers simply must become more accountable for what they have built, let alone what they are planning on building.”
Summarising, Cllr Adrian Waddelove (Farndon, Con), Cheshire West and Chester Conservative Group Leader explained his pleasure that cross-party consensus that was reached by: “an open and collaborative conversation and request that get to the bottom of a divisive and expensive issue for residents.
“We need a thorough review of outstanding works, better communication with residents, and a firm commitment to hold developers to account when they repeatedly fail to deliver. After all, residents pay their full council tax alongside estate management fees, and yet they get very little in return.”
