The man who wants to be the first ever elected mayor of Cheshire and Warrington claims local house prices are among the 'top 20 highest in the world', which he branded 'morally indefensible'.

Ben Fletcher was recently unveiled as the Conservative's candidate to be the first mayor of the new Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority (CA).

Councillors at three councils – Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, and Warrington – recently signed off on the creation of the new CA as part of the Government's wider devolution agenda.

The CA will have a powerful elected leader, similar to Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Steve Rotheram in the Liverpool City Region, with a significant budget and control over things like transport, housing and employment policy.

And in an open letter, Mr Fletcher claimed the average house price in Cheshire and Warrington was 'more than eight times the average salary'.

He added: "Using this ratio, Cheshire is one of the top 20 most expensive places on the planet. That is morally indefensible."

He took aim at the Government's plans to create 12 'new towns', including one in Adlington near Macclesfield, which he claimed this was the 'wrong approach' to solving the country's housing shortage.

He said: "New towns cannot be imposed top-down. New housing needs to be planned together with residents, businesses and councillors as part of a wider plan for services and infrastructure, that gives the private sector the confidence to invest.

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"Locally, we already have great towns like Warrington, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Northwich and Macclesfield crying out for investment. These must be the priority."

Although each council will continue to operate business as usual, the new Cheshire and Warrington CA will be a separate but related organisation with a budget of £650 million over the next 30 years.

A businessman by trade, he most recently served as chief financial officer of The Very Group.

If elected as mayor, he said he would deliver 'town revival plans' focussed on building what he called 'beautiful, dense, well-planned housing' that would help 'restore pride and prosperity' in the area's towns.

He said: "My town revival plans will be comprehensive, rather than the piecemeal approach being taken by the local councils; an approach that has consistently failed to make a difference.

"They will include housing, business and physical and digital infrastructure."

Other candidates are expected to announce in due course, with a mayoral vote pencilled in for 2027.