PEAKS and Plains has announced plans to build 750 affordable homes over the next five years.

The housing trust, which supports residents in east Cheshire, Northwich and Buxton, is set to invest more than £100 million in the project.

A further £30 million is also set to be spent on improving the housing trust’s current homes.

Tim Pinder, chief executive at Peaks and Plains, said: “Over the next five years we will continue to be a great landlord and deliver first class services to new and existing customers.

“We want to create homes in neighbourhoods that are sustainable, vibrant, well connected and thoughtfully designed.

“Innovation will be key to ensuring we do this over the next five years. So, we want to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and use technology to enable us to better understand customers’ individual needs.

“We’ll be working in partnership with experts across all we do to ensure we create great places to live and deliver first rate services.”

Peaks and Plains is also set to develop its digital services to improve communication with residents.

Cllr Gary Barton, Conservative Cheshire East Council member for Wilmslow West and Chorley, believes the scheme to build 750 affordable homes ‘can be positive if it is done well’.

“The level of building that is going on locally is higher than most residents want,” he said.

“But there is a need for affordable housing in east Cheshire. Peaks and Plains is towards the social end of affordable housing so I think we have to balance those needs.

“One thing that frustrates residents and councillors is when houses are built but contributions are not made by developers to improve infrastructure, so anything they can do to mitigate that impact on local amenity would be welcome.”

While details of the location for most of the new homes are yet to be revealed, 67 will be built at the former mills at Park Green as part of wider regeneration plans for Macclesfield.

Cllr Laura Jeuda, Labour CEC member for Macclesfield South, believes the plan to build more affordable homes is ‘fantastic news’ – although she insists more needs to be done.

“We could do with a lot more than that if we are talking about a five-year period,” she added.

“I think it’s something we can be really pleased about but we can encourage Peaks and Plains to do a few more houses.

“Affordable homes are what we need rather than those great big houses that are being built. Goodness knows who can afford those.”