MAZE - the first decade

MAZE Planning Solutions is marking 10 years in business this month, reflecting on a busy and tumultuous period for the property industry.

Thank you to everyone who has played a part in helping the business reach this milestone as we look forward to the next 10 years with equal relish and enthusiasm.

The first 10 MAZE projects - a quick run through the filing cabinet in late 2003 and where the schemes ended up:

001 - Red City, Salford: providing retail impact work for what is now Salford City Stadium and associated retail warehouse development at Barton. The retail element is yet to be built.

002 - West Bowling, Bradford: a B&Q Warehouse store to kick start a major business park development for Landmark Development Projects.  Bradford Council liked it but the Secretary of State had other ideas and refused planning permission after a call-in inquiry.  The site is now home to Prologis Park, anchored by M&S's enourmous distribution warehouse.

003 - Electric Park, Trafford Park, Manchester: a major employment regeneration scheme for Green Property, now home to Kellogg's 35,000 square metre distribution warehouse and L'Oreal amongst others.

004 - Durham City Retail Park: a 20,000 square metre retail warehouse, restaurant and car showroom scheme for Consolidated Property Group, secured after a lengthy multi-party call-in inquiry.  The scheme was up and running soon after approval, with B&Q anchoring. 

005 - Chester Road, Manchester: an ambitious Ian Simpson designed glass-clad apartment scheme providing 90 units in the Castlefield basin, promoted for Sterling Capitol. Approved at the same planning committee as the nearby Deansgate Tower, but ultimately confined to the drawing board.  The site was sold on and remains vacant today. 

006 - St Anne Street, Liverpool: another 90 unit inner city apartment scheme, which this time failed to impress the City Planners, concerned about scale and density. The site remains in industrial use.

007 - Thornaby District Centre, Stockton-On-Tees: £30m town centre transformation project for Thornfield Developments and Stockton Council, approved and built before Thornfield's demise and now occupied by Home Bargains, Wilkinson and others.

008 - New Road, Crook: 57 houses and 1400sqm of office space for Wolff Developments to replace ageing warehouse and factory premises and provide access to a landlocked employment development allocation.  Housing now built and sold. 

009 - Dunnings Bridge Road, Bootle: working with JMP Consultants on behalf of the Highways Agency to appraise Ikea's proposals for its first Merseyside store.  Ikea pulled the plug in December 2005 when the Secretary of State intervened in Sefton Council's decision to grant planning permission.

010 - Altrincham Town Centre: working as part of the Sterling Capitol team to win and then almost immediately lose preferred developer status for regeneration of land at Oakfield Road after political wrangling at Trafford Council caused havoc. Now under Nikal's control the 'Altrair' scheme has recently been reinvigorated and looks set to progress.

Bromley Cross foodstore unveiled

MAZE Planning Solutions has submitted a detailed planning application to Bolton Council today (7 November) for a retail and office development in Bromley Cross. 

The application has been made on behalf of the landowner, CW Construction (North West) Ltd, and proposes redevelopment of the vacant former Green Bengal restaurant on Darwen Road.
 

The anchor foodstore has been designed in conjunction with Sainsbury's and the scheme also includes further unit shops as an expansion of the established Bromley Cross local shopping centre.
 

The new buildings will be constructed in natural stone and materials reclaimed from the existing building will be used to form boundary walls and other hard landscaping elements.