Bury Retail Review

 

The retail market is stirring in Bury.  The town’s famous market might still the main draw for coach trippers but Scottish Widow’s recently announced sale of the Mill Gate Centre hails the prospect of fresh retail investment and lettings at a key town centre asset, which relinquished occupiers to Thornfield’s The Rock, just as the recession bit hard. 

Here’s a quick roundup of what’s happening in Manchester’s northern outpost.

The Rock

Bury is still adjusting to The Rock, which opened in summer 2010, adding 74,000 sq.m of retail space, Vue cinema, AMF bowling and the town’s first clutch of chain restaurants.  The scheme delivered large floorplate units, attracting debutants Primark, Debenhams and Superdry.  Others transferred from traditional prime areas in the Mill Gate Centre, notably M&S, but several vacancies remain following early tenant churn.  More development is promised, adding four restaurant / café units at the west end of the scheme on the Sol Viva nightclub site.  Permission was secured in 2013 and the site is ready to go.

The Mill Gate Centre

Contracts were exchanged in June for sale of The Mill Gate Centre by Scottish Widows for about £52 million.  InfraRed Capital Partners is acquiring and will hope to reduce voids caused by tenant failures and defections to The Rock.  It retains BHS as anchor, along with Boots, New Look, Specsavers and Waterstones.  There is potential for reconfiguration of the mainly covered centre.  Scottish Widows drew up a development plan after its purchase in 2005 but the recession that followed and shift of focus to The Rock meant nothing progressed.

Bolton Street

Bury Council granted planning permission in September 2013 for a 12,000 sq.m foodstore on the vacant police HQ site and leisure centre, at Bolton Street, on the western edge of town.  The Council’s partner ASK Developments, must ensure relocation of the leisure centre to nearby Knowsley Street.  Morrisons and Sainsburys were rumoured as a potential occupiers - neither is represented in the town - but local agents doubt the retailer appetite for a large store.  The permission is the subject of judicial review by rival developer Morbaine, which has aspirations for a foodstore across town at Derby Way.  Morbaine’s challenge was initially rebuffed by the courts but a subsequent hearing in March 2014 determined there were legitimate grounds for challenge.  Negotiations are ongoing between the parties; Council Officers say it might lead to cessation of the proceedings.

Derby Way

Morbaine has options on 2.4 hectares of land east of The Rock, occupied by First Bus.  Planning permission for a 10,500 sq.m foodstore was refused in September 2013, at the same committee that approved the Council’s alternative Bolton Street scheme.  Sainsbury’s was associated with the site but, like Bolton Street, sentiments seem to have changed and the retailer is unlikely to commit.

Woodfields Retail Park

A Tesco British Land JV, anchored by the eponymous retailer on the northern edge of the town centre, off Peel Way. Tesco’s superstore is dominant in the town and likely to be extended to add dot.com facilities, servicing a growing demand for multi-channel retailing.  A planning application is with the Council.  The retail park is fully let, home to Boots, Next, Sports Soccer, Currys and JD Sports.

Moorgate Retail Park

Located on the east edge of the centre, Moorgate is recovering from the failure of MFI in late 2008 and Comet in December 2012. Home Bargains mopped up the former MFI unit about 12 months ago – its third outlet in the town.  The Comet space remains available 18 months after the shutters came down, but is the only vacant retail warehouse in town.

Other Town Centre Retail Parks

Angouleme Retail Park (George Street) and Halls Retail Park (Foundry Street) complete the line‑up of town centre retail parks, fully let and neighboured by Asda and Matalan stores on the southern edge of the retail core. Key occupiers include Argos, TK Maxx, Smyths Toys and Pets at Home.

Elton

Further afield, 0.8 mile west of the town centre, Lidl is seeking consent for a store at Victoria Street.  The Council refused permission in September 2013, concerned about the site’s out-of-centre location and loss of employment land.  Lidl has appealed and awaits a decision.  In the meantime Aldi has stolen a march on its discount rival, securing space at the neighbouring Crostons Retail Park, ending a patchy period for a former Netto store, which has seen several occupiers come and go since its closure in 2010, ironically just as Netto makes a return to the UK market.

Park 66, Pilsworth

Park 66, at junction 3 of the M66, 1.5 miles south east of Bury town centre, is a mothballed leisure investment next to Asda’s established superstore.  Mutil‑screen cinema, bowling and restaurant buildings were vacated following movement of tenants to The Rock.  A standalone Pizza Hut continues to trade.  Marketing in 2010 generated interest for retailing, subject to planning, but nothing made it off the drawing board.  The site is being marketed now - offers are due in any day and likely to see industrial or warehousing emerge as the preferred use.

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.  

Burscough Housing Scheme Approved

West Lancashire Borough Council has given its approval to proposals for development of 86 houses on land at the junction of Liverpool Road South and Abbey Lane in Burscough.

The planning application was made by MAZE Planning Solutions on behalf of the landowner, Time Token Ltd.

The Council's decision, reached on 05 September, brings to a close a lengthy planning application process needed to explore and resolve issues relating to ground conditions, ecology, noise and drainage.

The site has a chequered planning history, with several failed and withdrawn applications.  MAZE worked with the Borough Council over an extended period prior to submission of the application to ensure that the emerging Local Plan document supported the principle of housing development, clearing the way for a successful application this time around.

The planning permission is subject to a S106 agreement that will secure a significant financial contribution towards the Burscough/Ormskirk Linear Park initiative and a mechanism to ensure a viable level of affordable housing is provided when development takes place.

Clough & Willis is managing completion of the S106 agreement and Nolan Redshaw Chartered Surveyors is handling the sale of the site for Time Token.

MAZE was assisted during the applications by contributions from:
Nolan Redshaw Chartered Surveyors
The Harris Partnership
Croft Transport Solutions
ERAP Consultant Ecologists
Nicholls Colton Geotechnical
Hepworth Acoustics
Waterco
Urban Green
Utility Connections Management Ltd
Waterline Environmental

Standish foodstore application submitted

Proposals for development of a foodstore at High Street in Standish have been submitted to Wigan Council following public consultation earlier this year.

The planning application was submitted on 1 July by MAZE Planning Solutions and is  promoted by the landowner, Noel Chadwick Ltd.  It will enable comprehensive redevelopment of the site at 51-67 High Street to provide a foodstore designed to meet the need for additional convenience retail space to serve the local population.


The application proposes a building of 2,618 square metres, with a net retail sales area of 1,571 square metres and a café of 100 square metres, served by 150 space car park which will be available free of charge on a short stay basis to enable users to visit other shops, services and schools in the town centre area.

The applicant 's design team engaged in a lengthy period of pre-application consultation with Borough Council officers and latterly the public in February and March this year.  This revealed that a significant majority of respondents are supportive of a new foodstore, welcoming the benefits they consider that would bring in terms of shopping choice, competition and quality, much need car parking for the town centre, and local job opportunities.

The foodstore will replace the existing collection of buildings on the site which include an abattoir, restaurant and butcher/delicatessen which are all operated by the applicant.  The design process has been particularly rigorous as parts of the site are situated in the Standish Conservation Area dictating the need for great care with design detail and materials proposed for the store.

Further details of the development can be viewed on Wigan Council's website by clicking here and searching for planning application number A/13/78303.

Standish Foodstore - Public Consultation

This consultaion is now closed.  Please telephone for further information 
MAZE Planning Solutions has today set out proposals for the future of The Chadwick Family’s land and property at High Street, Standish.  The area is to be redeveloped to provide a new foodstore on the edge of the town centre, providing a significant boost to the town’s retail facilities.

Before any formal planning application is made MAZE Planning Solutions is conducting a period of public consultation. 

 
From today and until Friday 22 March details of the development and consultation feedback forms will be available on request from MAZE and can be accessed following the links at the end of this article.

There will be an open day held at Standish Methodist Church, High Street on 19 March (2pm-8pm) where the development team will be available to explain the scheme and answer questions.      

The proposed development is comprised of a purpose built foodsore fronting High Street in the Standish Conservation Area, providing a building of 2,330 sq.m gross floorspace (25,028 sq.ft), together with parking for 150 cars and a new access junction on to High Street, replacing all existing buildings and access arrangements.

Andrew Watt of MAZE Planning Solutions said:

“The Chadwick Family has a very long association with Standish, initially as farmers and latterly as butchers and retailers, and all within 200 metres of the present High Street site.  The family’s forward looking proposals will create a modern retail business that will give the residents of Standish and the surrounding rural communities a great opportunity to carry out their day‑to‑day food shopping locally. 

We’ve been in discussion with officers of Wigan Council about the future of the Chadwick’s site for several months, to make sure the scale and design of the proposed foodstore are right for the town and its Conservation Area.  During that time the design team has undertaken a wide range of investigations looking at traffic, ecology, noise, retailing and heritage issues to name a few, and we think the scheme is now ready to share with a wider audience before a planning application is submitted.

The site is already a familiar destination for Standish’s shoppers who visit the food emporium and restaurant.  It is perfectly positioned to provide a new foodstore with free short­­‑stay parking that can also serve established shops and services in the town centre.

There’s also great potential to encourage use of the site as a new ‘Park and Walk’ location for Wood Fold School, intercepting school‑bound traffic arriving from the East along the A49 so it doesn’t have to pass through the town centre at peak periods.  It’s any easy walk from the site to school on level footpaths that are off the main road.

We’re asking for feedback on the proposed development before we settle on a scheme and submit a planning application to Wigan Council.  As it stands we think the site can accommodate a building of 2,330 square metres gross (25,082 square feet), served by 150 space car park.  That would translate into a shop with a sales area of about 1,400 square metres (15,070 square feet).”    

The public consultation runs until 5pm, Friday 22 March. 

Lancashire Golf Course - Public Consultation Launched

This consultaion is now closed. Please telephone for further information

MAZE Planning Solutions has lauched a public consultation exercise seeking views on the proposed development of an 18 hole golf course at Leisure Lakes, in the village of Mere Brow near Southport, Lancashire. 

The ambitious new course will sit alongside Southport Golf Academy's existing 9 hole course, driving range and golf school at Leisure Lakes camping and outdoor pursuits centre. The new course has been planned to attract younger golfers to the area, and provide an easier and cheaper golfing alternative to the area's more challenging championship courses.

The course will provide 5700 yards of play, incorporating the exisiting water features, hedgerows and trees on the site.  Richard Carpenter, Director of Southport Golf Academy at Leisure Lakes said:

"We play an important role in developing young players, but after a while they are keen to play on a full size course and the proposed development will keep them playing in the area.  As a flat course it will be great for older golfers too."

If planning permission is granted the new course is expected to employ 10-15 full time staff. Work is planned to start in October and take 12-18 months to complete.

The public consultation exercise runs until 15 February.

Rossendale United - Public Consultation

MAZE has launched a public consultation exercise to help shape development proposed at the former home of Rossendale United Football Club in the Newchurch area of Rossendale Borough.

Rossendale United ceased to be an active football club at the end of the 2009/10 season. Significant debts had amassed and the consequent inability to pay the day-to-day bills led to expulsion from the Vodkat League.

The Club's pitch and associated facilities at Dark Lane have become a target for vandalism and anti-social behaviour. On 15 January this year the main stand was devastated in an arson attack. 

It has become increasingly urgent and important to identify a positive future for the ground to prevent it becoming a serious blight on the local community, and to remove the risks and dangers of a repeat of the recent fire.

The consultation exercise seeks to do that by encouraging the local community and other interest groups to get involved.  The consultation was launched on 14 February and runs until the 7th March 2012.  It asks for feedback on a proposed family housing development of about 50 units, together with ideas for an associated 'sporting legacy'.

Further details: www.darklanedevelopments.co.uk

Malvern Retail Park Extension

Permission is on its way for an extension of Malvern Retail Park following successful passage through Planning Committee on 15 June. The extension will provide 1,960sqm (21,000sqft) of open A1 retail space and a 140sqm coffee designed as a contemporary bookend to the established retail terrace.

The prime retail park is owned by Alderley Edge based Consolidated Property Group and is fully let. Tenants include M&S, Next and Matalan. The new space is being provided as part of a planned programme of asset management at the park, which was acquired by CPG on 2009 and includes additional parking and access improvements.

MAZE Planning Solutions led the planning application process, supported by inputs from RGP Architects, CBO Transport, Warrington Martin, and Oakbay Design. Savills are letting and managing agents.