Tetrosyl plans to convert HQ into housing
CAR care firm Tetrosyl has submitted plans to convert its historic base at Bevis Green in Bury into a new residential development containing 275 homes.
The site contains almost 26 acres and edges onto green belt land a mile north of Bury town centre close to the junction with Walmersley Old Road and the M66. It currently contains the firm’s headoffice building, an R&D facility, manufacturing and warehouse space.
However, Tetrosyl has outgrown the facility and in recent years has taken extra space at another site in the town and at Greengate in Chadderton.
An earlier attempt to gain planning to convert the site into housing seven years ago was rejected by planners and its proposal to relocate operations to Heap Bridge went all the way through a public inquiry before being rejected by the then Secretary of State John Prescott.
Its latest application, which is set to be heard by Bury Council’s planning committee next week, states that pressure has been placed on the firm “to improve its operations and to respond to its market” which means it need to relocate.
“However, financial circumstances are such that there is a need to seek permission on the existing Bevis Green Site, to part-fund a relocation to another site,” it said.
“The current intention is to relocate to another site within Bury and thus the proposals would not only secure a large number of jobs within the borough, but also regenerate an existing alternative site.”
Objections to Tetrosyl’s plans have been received by 14 local residents, sating that the council’s own core strategy has already identified enough housing land, that the Bevis Green site is designated as employment land and that the borough already lacks decent employment sites. Concerns were also expressed about the impact on amenities such as schools and roads.
However, one local resident has welcomed the potentially positive impact that executive homes planned for the site could have on the local area.
Planning officers have also recommended that the scheme is approved, subject to certain conditions. One of these is a commitment from the firm to stay in the borough, or if it relocates to compensate the council to the tune of more than £2.7m which would be used “to bring forward employment opportunities in other parts of the borough”.
At the same planning committee meeting, the committee is set to decide on whether to extend planning permission granted to the Wilton Estate and developer Casey Group two years ago to convert a six-acre former landfill site near Pilsworth Industrial Estate into a scheme containing 95,000 sq ft of offices spread across 13 separate buildings.
Planning officers are recommending the time limited is extended, with conditions. One of these is that work must begin within three years of permission being granted.
