Planning application in for £200m brownfield housing project

Plans to deliver a new, residential-led development at Cowley Hill Works have been submitted to St Helens Council.

The proposals are being brought forward by BXB Cowley Hill, a joint venture between developer Promenade Estates and land development company BXB.

The scheme will deliver up to 1,200 new homes, a hotel and commercial space off College Street, north of the town centre.

The development will sit on a significant proportion of the former Cowley Hill Works, operated by Japanese glass maker, NSG Group, adjacent to the firm’s glass coating facility which will continue to operate.

Cowley Hill Works has already been recognised by St Helens Council as suitable for both residential and commercial development and is the largest allocation within St Helens’ emerging Local Plan.

The plan, which was approved by councillors last year, is expected to be submitted to the Government later this year.

Daniel Hynd, of Promenade Estates, said: “This is a strategically vital site for St Helens in terms of the town’s ambitions for new homes and commercial infrastructure. Having regenerated numerous sites of this type we understand how best to knit together the various elements of the scheme and are pleased with the shape of our application.”

The redevelopment of the site is expected to bring several significant economic benefits to St Helens, including an estimated capital expenditure of £200m.

A further £15m is expected to be spent on goods and services each year by the new residents, while £1.5m is expected to be generated annually from the Council Tax receipts once all the homes are occupied.

The development is expected to take up to 12 years to complete, creating approximately 360 full time equivalent jobs each year during the construction phase.

The submission of BXB Cowley Hill’s application follows two phases of public engagement, including two public exhibitions at The Mansion House in Victoria Park during October 2019.

The feedback submitted to the consultation was extremely positive, with the vast majority of respondents agreeing with the principle of regenerating the under-used, brownfield land.

Gary Goodman, director at BXB Cowley Hill, said: “After a successful period of public engagement we have now submitted a planning application for a new residential-led development at Cowley Hill Works. We are excited to be redeveloping what is under-used land so close to the town centre, which we are confident will bring significant economic benefits to the wider town.”

A Council-led consultation will now take place ahead of the application being determined by the authority’s planning committee later in the year.