Green light for nursery demolition at Moss Farm complex

Cheshire West and Chester Council planners have decided that prior approval is not needed for demolition work at Moss Farm Sports and Leisure Complex to commence.

It means bulldozers can now move in on a former children’s nursery building to create additional space at the complex.

Operated by council community interest company Brio Leisure, the Moss Farm complex is home to a number of clubs and organisations including Cheshire County Football Association (FA), Northwich Cricket Club, Northwich Rugby Union Football Club and Cheshire Gymnastics.

According to plans submitted online, once the nursery building has been demolished, the site will be cleared and the space backfilled and reseeded with grass for ancillary use associated with the sports complex.

The work will be completed by excavators, dust suppression machines, low loaders and tippers, as well as by hand. All asbestos containing materials will also be removed.

The application states demolition work, including HGV movements, would only take place between Monday and Friday, 8am to 6pm, and on Saturdays from 8am to 1pm, with no work on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

The earliest the work will commence is the end of June, the plans said.

It is the latest in a series of work designed to expand and improve facilities. Demolition work saw a metal-clad barn flattened on the site last year to create additional parking spaces.

Renovations to the football and rugby pitch, next to the sand-dressed Artificial Grass Pitch (AGP), were completed in September 2023. Plans are in place to improve access and movement around the site for pedestrians and cyclists.