Property round-up: Plans approved for Warrington retirement village; consultation begins on Macc town centre; and more

MANCHESTER-based architectural practice Pozzoni has secured planning approval for a new Belong Village series of retirement homes at Loushers Lane in Warrington.

The scheme will contain six self-contained ‘households’ for 12 residents which provides specialist residential, dementia and nursing care. A further 18 one- and two-bed apartments will be available for older people able to live independently. The site will also contain communal facilities including a bistro, hair-and-beauty salon, wellbeing suite and a community room which will be available both to residents and the wider community.

The village is one of several designed by Pozzoni for beyond following earlier schemes at Crewe, Mancllesfield, Wigan and Atherton.

Damian Utton, partner at Pozzoni, said: “The design of Belong Warrington continues the principles of creating innovative, cost-effective and non-institutional environments that meet the aims and aspirations of older people, helping them to stay healthy, active and stimulated.”

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RESIDENTS in Macclesfield are being invited to view plans to redevelop the town centre at a public exhibition which will be held at the town hall next weekend (Jun 10-11).

The plans by developer Wilson Bowden include a major new retail-led scheme containing an anchor department store, 22 new retail units, an eight-screen cinema and new car parking.

The proposals – including models and computer-generated images of the scheme, will be on display in the town hall’s assembly rooms between 11am-7pm on Friday 10 and 10am-4pm on Saturday 11. After that, they will be on display for three more weeks at the town hall customer service centre.

Patrick Arthurs, from Wilson Bowden Developments, said: “The Macclesfield town centre redevelopment is a chance to provide new facilities that enhance the vibrancy of the town centre while building on the strengths of the existing centre.  

“The current retail offer will be expanded significantly through the creation of additional high-quality retail units that will attract leading names to Macclesfield and provide more choice for shoppers.

“This innovative development will change the face of Macclesfield town centre. It is crucial for the success of the town that the area is developed so that it continues to be a vibrant and economically important part of the town.”

Councillor Jamie Macrae, Cheshire East Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for prosperity, said: “We have worked extensively with the developers to bring this project forward in what has been a challenging time for our economy and we are eager to present the revised scheme to the public.

“The scheme takes into account many of the views expressed during the consultations on the ‘Macclesfield Economic Planning’ last summer and will form a crucial part of our regeneration proposals for the town as a whole.

A detailed planning application for the scheme is expected to be submitted during winter 2011 but a start on site is not expected until summer 2013.

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PROPERTY agency Knight Frank has been instructed to let two buildings on Trafford Park.
Tissue maker Kruger has appointed Knight Frank to market its huge 216,530 sq ft Royce 220 building in Trafford Park.
The unit is well-located in the middle of the Trafford Mark estate on Ashburton Road West. It has eaves ranging in height from 7.7-8.4 metres and ample loading provision.
Knight Frank has been appointed as joint agent alongside WHR Property Consultants and said the building offers an opportunity for accommodation of more than 200,000 sq ft within a single building at the park.

Meanwhile, the firm has also been instructed to sell a 7,825 sq ft warehouse with accompanying office accommodation known as Media Park on Trafford Park for Guardian News & Media.

The office space can be split into suites ranging in size from 126 sq ft to 6,208 sq ft with rents starting from £50 per week for smaller suites. The industrial space is being offered at £4.25 per sq ft.

Rob Taylor, an associate with Knight Frank in Manchester, said: “Take up across the region for big sheds has generally been good and activity in Trafford Park particularly appears to be on the increase, with voids diminishing recently.

“It is fantastic to have been instructed by two high profile clients on two landmark properties within Trafford Park.”

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PRESTON-based architectural practice, Cassidy and Ashton, has been contracted to deliver two projects at the University of Liverpool’s Sydney Jones Library.

The firm will design a new Muslim prayer room and a postgraduate and academic study area at the complex in the university’s South Campus at Oxford Street.

The first project will see a currently vacant 3,450 sq ft area of the library transformed into a Muslim prayer room, with separate male and female sections, storage room and wudu washing facility.

Cassidy and Ashton will also draw up plans to convert the Senate Drum building (right) – where the university senate previously met – into a quiet reading and study area for postgraduate students and academics.

The 10,000 sq ft building will be open plan and will feature curtained walls and a single entrance to minimise noise.

David Owen, a director at Cassidy and Ashton, said: “We are delighted to be continuing our working relationship with the University of Liverpool, for whom we have previously designed the Equine Hospital, Confucius Centre and the refurbishment of the Harold Cohen Library.

Both projects are due for completion in September 2011.

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PROPERTY agency CBRE has let 79,500 sq ft unit at Stockport Trading Estate.
Fire products company Tyco has taken 37,000 sq ft of space at the estate, while Brookbank Canoes has taken 19,000 sq ft and  Authentic Foods has extended its existing production site to 23,500 sq ft.

CBRE Acted for the landlord on all three deals at the estate, which is next to Junction 1 of the M60. Other occupiers include Booker Cash & Carry, Plumbing Trade Supplies and Plumb Centre.

Paul Cook, associate director of industrial agency at CBRE, said: “Stockport Trading Estate provides a unique opportunity for occupiers who require quality warehousing in close proximity to the M60 motorway.

“In addition, the landlord is currently refurbishing two 10,000 sq ft warehouse units at the facility, which will be completed imminently.

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RADCLIFFE-based soft furnishings business J Rosenthal has spent £2.85m on a new warehouse and distribution centre on the outskirts of Salford’s Media City.

The 64,000 sq ft building at Ravenscraig has been fully operational since April as the company’s sole storage and distribution outlet serving its UK-wide network of shops. However, it has kept a warehouse in Blackburn to serve mail order customers.

Managing director Harry Rosenthal said: “Relocating to Ravenscraig represents a major milestone for J Rosenthal because it will fundamentally change the way the business operates.

“Additional floor space comes at a premium so we needed a building with the height to allow us to maximise cubic capacity.

“The move, alongside recruiting additional staff on the sales side, will enable us to tighten our lead times and provide altogether slicker customer service – the upshot of which, we hope, will be an increase in stockists and, in turn, sales.”

Family-owned J Rosenthal was started 100 years ago in 1911 by Harry’s grandmother, Jane. It began as a tailor trimmings shop but later moved into the wholesale import of fabrics and wider soft furnishings.

“We’ve invested in the resource and equipment to ensure our Radcliffe set-up is genuinely unique to British interiors and it was time we brought our distribution centres in-line with the rest of the business,” said Harry Rosenthal.

“The two Blackburn warehouses were simply outdated and couldn’t deliver the accuracy and speed we need to take the business forward.

“The new Salford site will positively impact productivity and I’m excited about what the move could mean for the future of J Rosenthal.”

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POCHIN Special Projects has been granted a £308,840 contract to build a drive-thru Subway restaurant on Sandbrook Park in Rochdale.

The division of Middlewich-based developer and contractor Pochin’s has been appointed to construct the shell of the new 1,754. sq ft drive-thru restaurant with added car parking.

Pochin has agreed to complete the contract for AIG Holdings within 17 weeks. It will be complete by the end of July.

Anthony Pochin, operations director of Pochin Special Projects, said: “As this is a shell project, we will be collaborating with our working partner GM Services, to complete the scheme. Together we have engineered the contract to arrive at a design that meets both the client and their customer’s requirements.”

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KE Software, a privately-owned Australian company with offices in America, Asia and Europe, is relocating its UK office to Barclay House at 35 Whitworth Street West in Manchester. 

The company has taken a 1,100 sq ft unit on a six-year lease at the building.
KE Software offers two products in the UK. KE EMu is a collections management system for museums, archives and specialist collections and KE Vitalware is a statistics management system for Registries of Births, Death and Marriages.

The firm was advised on the lease by Chris Renshaw of CRC North. He said: ““KE Software UK had outgrown its existing offices due to expansion and needed a new central Manchester location”.

Alex Fell of KE Software said; “The new office is ideal for our requirements and is well located for our staff and clients.”

The landlord, Barclay House Securities, was represented by CHG Ltd, CBRE & Edwards & Co.