Property round-up: Hassett Homes; Miller Homes; Pure Residential; Seafresh; Vivify
Developer Hassett Homes is to submit plans for the redevelopment of a listed Liverpool mansion, to include 21 new homes and three refurbished coach houses within its three-acre grounds.
If consented, the scheme will also see 11 apartments developed within Eddesbury, a Grade II-listed mansion on Almonds Green in West Derby.
The house was completed in 1884 by noted Liverpool architect Francis Doyle for a family of wealthy grocers and has remained empty since 2004.
Hassett Homes agreed to purchase the site from a private entity in 2020 and says it will submit its planning application in the autumn following consultation with local residents, now under way.
Managing director Jamie Blennerhassett says the development will bring a ‘hidden gem’ back into use. He said: “This is a gem of a building with some delightful interior and exterior features that we will be preserving and enhancing.
Interior plans
“The generous grounds allow us to support the scheme’s viability with much needed new homes whilst retaining views of the main house across re-instated landscaping. It will add considerable value to the neighbourhood and remove a source of anti-social behaviour.”
The proposals have been welcomed by local heritage groups who feared the loss of the deteriorating building. Stephen Guy, of the West Derby Society, said: “This building needs to be seen and enjoyed and we’re delighted with the plans.
“This was the last ‘big house’ to be built in West Derby in the Victorian era and is an important part of the village’s heritage. I’m certain local people will join us in supporting this.”
Hassett Homes currently has five developments in and around the Liverpool area. The company’s scheme in Eccleston saw the majority of homes sold off-plan within three weeks of launch and it is now on site in Aughton developing a mix of nine three- and four-bedroom homes.
Mr Blennerhasset added: “The market has welcomed our carefully crafted homes with enthusiasm and we have the funding to acquire further sites. We are assessing a number of possible acquisitions and remain on the look out for more.”
The Eddesbury development has been designed by the Liverpool studio of Drome Architects. Satplan is planning advisor, with Graeme Ives (heritage), Tyrer Ecological Consultants and Highways Advice also part of the professional team.
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Plans for the Sonnett Gate development
National homebuilder, Miller Homes, has achieved planning permission for phase one of its new development in Prescot, South Liverpool.
Sonnet Gate, named as a nod to Prescot’s Shakespearian links, is located on Prescot Park Way and the first phase will feature 53 homes consisting of either three- or four-bedrooms.
An exciting new Merseyside-based development, Sonnet Gate will feature open plan homes which include space to work from home.
The development is in a sought after location near to the Merseyrail line for access to Liverpool city centre. It also boasts prolific motorway links.
Ideal for young professionals, first time buyers and growing families, Miller Homes aims to bring a fresh new community to Prescot with Sonnet Gate.
Clare Noakes, sales director for Miller Homes in the North West, said: “We’re excited to begin bringing new homes to Prescot at Sonnet Gate. We hope the locals will be impressed with what Miller Homes has to offer.”
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Tir Llwyd Enterprise Park
Pure Residential & Commercial has announced phase two of the Business Hub at Tir Llwyd Enterprise Park, Kinmel Bay in North Wales to be built by sister company K&C Construction.
The St Asaph and Daresbury-based developer and contractor has now settled into its new 11,000 sq ft head office space in St Asaph. The striking new office was designed in-house and built by K&C Construction to enable continued growth as it delivers its construction programme of more than £160m of new developments across the region.
This includes a further five steel portal commercial units ranging from 2,906 to 8,800 sq ft (270–818 sq m) for the Business Hub at Tir Llwyd Enterprise Park. The first two units are already complete and occupied and were part funded by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) to stimulate growth and jobs.
Chris White, managing director of Pure Residential & K&C Construction, said: “We are reacting to the growing demand for these type of units as the market post-COVID continues to move forward. Tir Llwyd Enterprise Park has superb connections to the A55 and our quality product is making this an attractive proposition to a wide range of businesses.”
The five units comprise a terrace of three and a pair of semi-detached business units, each with its own yard and landscaping, available from the second quarter of 2022.
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Neill Wood and Rhoda Moss
Online fishmonger, Seafresh, has expanded into new premises at Moss Industrial Estate in Leigh after a year of phenomenal growth.
The national retailer, which specialises in sourcing high quality air blasted frozen fish and seafood, has moved into a new 2,146 sq ft unit, double the size of its previous one.
The business was founded by Jeff Gladwin in 1996 and was based on the principle of selling frozen foods directly to the customer from his team of vans in Port Talbot, South Wales. After moving to Leigh in 2014, to be closer to his family, Jeff’s wife, Rhoda, joined the business. They were offered a cold store in Leeds and started to expand the business across Yorkshire and Lancashire, making good use of Rhoda’s passion for high quality customer service.
Seafresh eventually found a unit closer to home at Moss Industrial Estate in Leigh and launched online in 2016. The business began to expand across the North West and then the rest of the UK. Jeff and Rhoda employ two packers and use self-employed van drivers to deliver locally. They have also established a strong partnership with courier DPD which delivers its products to the rest of the UK.
As well as being an online fishmonger, Seafresh also sells a wide range of oven-ready products, such as breaded and battered fish, as well as meat and poultry through its website.
When COVID hit in 2020, and people were advised to stay at home, the supermarkets were struggling to meet demand. Conversely, Seafresh grew overnight. Jeff and Rhoda scaled up their operation substantially, but with customers stretching from Plymouth to Edinburgh they needed new premises.
Rhoda said: “We grew substantially during the COVID pandemic and, thankfully, around 80% of these new customers are still with us as they really value the quality of the food that we are able to deliver to their door on the very next day.
“We are very excited to have moved into our new home at Moss Industrial Estate, who have been incredibly supportive of us. We now have huge walk-in cold store freezers as well as a large packing area, where we make up each order by hand, and a lovely big office space. It’s an amazing place to work as we’re now just 10 minutes from home and we have easy access to the UK motorway network.”
Moss Industrial Estate is owned by family-run business, George Moss & Sons, which celebrated its centenary in 2020. The industrial estate is home to around 100 local businesses, of varying sizes and industries.
Neill Wood, managing director of Moss Industrial Estate, said: “The growth of Seafresh is fantastic news and it’s wonderful to hear that some businesses are still doing really well at this uncertain time. We’re really pleased to have Seafresh at Moss Industrial Estate and we wish them all the best with their new premises and their continued growth.”
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Huckletree
Vivify has signed terms on a new Manchester city centre office to prepare for significant growth.
The firm provides a digital platform as well as a fully managed service where under-utilised school facilities can be listed for hire to maximise social and physical activities within communities and generate much needed revenue for schools.
Vivify’s team will occupy a private office at Huckletree, the fully-serviced coworking space located in the historic old Express building in Ancoats, Manchester.
Andy Mellor, co-founder of Vivify, said: “Vivify is going through a really exciting phase at the moment. Having just gained backing from Arete Capital, we’re expecting a period of sustained growth and have, therefore, been looking for a new and agile hub to call home.”
He added: “Our team is spread out across the North, so Ancoats, with its great connectivity, was an ideal choice. Huckletree’s brilliant amenities and flexible nature, along with OBI’s insight and guidance, made it a clear cut decision.”
Vivify partners with schools to generate new revenue streams from hiring out their facilities by offering a live booking platform, a sales and marketing team to generate bookings, a contact centre to liaise with hirers and staffing.
For hirers, Vivify enables communities to get together to take part in social and physical activities at a time when it has never been so important.
Ryan White, from transactions and asset management at real estate company OBI, said: “Huckletree’s Ancoats base is a perfect fit for Vivify. With the business going through a rapid period of growth, they require maximum flexibility to ensure they can scale up with ease.
“This flexibility, combined with the onsite amenity and being part of the Huckletree community, makes this an attractive proposition for the modern office occupier. We anticipate continued growth in occupiers seeking flexibility and high quality amenity to attract and retain talent.”
Louis Jacobs, broker relations manager at Huckletree, said: “Vivify is a welcome addition to the Huckletree family. As a growing business, the Vivify team will really benefit from our modern, bustling and flexible space in Ancoats. We strongly encourage tenant collaboration within our buildings, so they’ll be well placed to collaborate with other tenants and accelerate their growth ambitions.”
Huckletree’s Northern flagship in Ancoats is home to founders, start-ups, creative agencies and innovation teams, including Depop, Pixel Kicks and Engine Transformation.
