Residential Property round up: Anwyl buy in Bebington; Wigan scheme rejected; Plans for Piccadilly site in Manchester; rare opportunity in Flookburgh

Anwyl Homes has completed a deal to purchase almost nine acres of land in Bebington, Wirral, from Unilever.

The homebuilder has planning consent for 127 new homes on a part of Unilever’s Port Sunlight Research & Development site on Quarry Road East.

Work has started on the redevelopment to clear the site to make way for the new homes.

The new venture has been named Lottie Gardens, in tribute to Bebington-born sportswoman Lottie Dod (1871 -1960); a celebrated five-time Wimbledon tennis champion, Olympic silver medal-winning archer and national golf champion.

Anwyl will build a wide mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom designs, including 25 affordable properties.

Phil Dolan, chief operating officer for Anwyl Homes, said: “We’re excited to bring forward this brownfield site for redevelopment to provide much-needed market and affordable homes in a sustainable location.

“We’ve carefully designed our homes to ensure they are in keeping with the character of the surrounding community, while boasting high levels of energy efficiency, with top specification insulation and solar panels.

“We’ll also be retaining the woodland on site and creating a new footpath link to St Andrews Road.”

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Pepper Lane

Wigan Councillors have rejected plans for 57 new homes in Wigan.

A Persimmon North West spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that committee members have not upheld the recommendation of approval made by the case officer.

“As the case officer’s report says, this development will support local housing needs and create a visually attractive modern development.

“The new Labour government has rightly put housing at the top of their agenda so it’s incredibly disappointing that a Labour council has not taken the opportunity to deliver much-needed new affordable housing for local people.”

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Residential housing developer Xpercity has announced plans to develop 69 new homes close to Manchester Piccadilly train station, following the acquisition of 0.25 acres of land on Store Street next to the city’s canal basin.

The development will be completed by the firm’s sister company, Big Red Construction, and is set to be ready for occupation in quarter one of 2026. Big Red and Xpercity are working with stakeholders to take advantage of innovative construction methods on a highly technical site.

The build-to-rent development benefits from full, detailed planning permission for 69 residential units, which will include 66 one and two bed apartments, and three townhouses.

The site in central Manchester will be called Outram, due to its location next to Britain’s oldest aqueduct and in recognition of the engineer who built the Grade Two listed structure, Benjamin Outram.

Outram sits within the east neighbourhood of the Manchester Piccadilly East Regeneration Framework (SRF) and benefits from having access from Store Street, with the potential for pedestrian access from the Ashton Canal towpath.

Due to the site being near other popular areas in the city centre, including New Islington, Ancoats, and the Northern Quarter, residents will have immediate access to a variety of amenities, including access to retail, leisure, office and transport facilities

Mike Lomas, founder of the BR2.0 Group which includes both Xpercity and Big Red Construction, said: “Renting shouldn’t be a headache for people. Xpercity aims to create a more enjoyable way of living and our latest site on Store Street will do just that.

“We’re seeing a continued strong demand for build to rent in Manchester, and we’re delighted to be able to offer quality living to those wanting to have the benefits of being close to the city centre.”

Elsewhere in the north of England, Xpercity is currently redeveloping a 106-unit site in Cheadle, following a successful £13.8m loan from Zorin Finance.  The BR2.0 Group’s vertically integrated offer allows the business to act with speed when progressing developments from initial planning stages, through to completion.

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Bond Wolfe land off Manorside

A rare and valuable plot of land on the edge of the Lake District with planning permission to build 32 homes is up for sale in Bond Wolfe’s next auction.

The 2.9-acre site at Manorside, off Market Street in Flookburgh, Cumbria will have a guide price* of £695,000+ in the livestreamed event on Thursday 24 October.

Craig Upton, marketing director at Bond Wolfe, said: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire a valuable development site within a village setting that offers easy access to Grange-over-Sands, Windermere and the Lake District.

“The area has many local amenities including a primary school and good public transport links and only a half mile away from the Cark & Cartmel railway station.

“Outline planning permission exists for the proposed development of 32 dwellings with associated landscaping, car parking and amenity space was granted by South Lakeland District Council in January last year.

“A copy of the planning consent will be available within the legal pack, and there may be potential to increase the density of the site, subject to further planning permission.”

Mr Upton added: “Certain mains utility services are understood to be available in the vicinity of the site, but prospective buyers should make their own independent enquiries.”

The land in Cumbria will be among 183 lots appearing in Bond Wolfe’s next auction which is due to start at 8.30am on Thursday 24 October.

The auction will be livestreamed via Bond Wolfe’s website with remote bidding by proxy, telephone or internet.