News round-up

A round-up of planning news

Industrial development plans approved in Lancashire  

Bolton Metropolitan Council has approved plans for a new £3.9 million industrial development on the outskirts of a Lancashire town.  

It will see Panattoni UK Developments Ltd proceed with the development of an industrial unit (use class B2/B8) with 36 on-site car parking spaces on land at the Wingates Industrial Estate in Westhoughton to the west of Bolton. 

New landscaping and trees are also included together with electrical vehicle charge points, a concrete service yard to allow lorries to manoeuvre and waste storage facilities as part of a commercial development package that will create 4,329 square metres of modern storage and distribution facilities on a 1.04-hectare brownfield site.  

Work on the unit, which will be on the site of the former Bernstein’s Kitchen Factory and will benefit from access to good local transport links when completed in 2024, is expected to create a number of jobs during the initial build-out phase. 

Plans announced to redevelop Birmingham race track 

West Midlands property developer Corbally Group is planning to regenerate Perry Barr Racetrack in Birmingham with 427 homes. 

The Racetrack is currently operated as a greyhound racing track. The lease is due to expire in 2026, with the operator planning to move to new premises at Monmore Green in Wolverhampton. 

A planning application is being prepared and is expected to be submitted in the coming months. 

A spokesperson for Corbally Group – Perry Barr, said: “Perry Barr has been identified as a priority area for growth within Birmingham. The city council has invested heavily to enable regeneration and deliver a legacy from the Commonwealth Games. The regeneration of the Perry Barr Racetrack is part of this vision. 

“The current site offers little in terms of wider community value and we’ve worked closely with the racetrack operator to support its move to new premises within the region. 

“We have developed an exciting scheme which not only delivers new homes but will create attractive new public spaces and unlock access to the riverfront. It will vastly improve Perry Barr and deliver real value for the established and emerging community in this location.” 

Hanwell science campus plans approved  

The Vale of White Horse District Council has approved plans for a new 53,000-square-foot (GIA) office building for a science campus.  

National property consultancy Carter Jonas secured planning consent on behalf of Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. 

The new office building will be occupied by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), but has been designed to provide flexibility. 

In addition to workspaces, the planning consent also includes breakout areas inside and outside of the building for staff and visitors, enhanced landscaping and tree planting, and car and cycle parking provision next to the building. 

Harwell Campus is located within The Science Vale UK area, an internationally significant location for innovation and science-based research and business. The 700-acre campus is home to several organisations, predominantly in the innovation technologies sector, and provides employment for about 6,500 people working in more than 225 organisations. 

Fareham regeneration plans announced 

Fareham Borough Council has announced its £30 million plans to regenerate Fareham town centre. 

The council says it wants to ensure that the town centre responds effectively and takes the opportunity to “reinvent itself” by offering a wide range of uses alongside well-connected public spaces to guarantee long-term success.    

Work will be undertaken over coming months to create a draft regeneration framework for public consultation and partner engagement alongside a detailed request for appropriate funding to support a further programme of regeneration work. 

Countryside set to deliver housing in Ilford 

Mixed-tenure developer Countryside Partnerships has agreed to deliver 98 affordable homes on land next to Barkingside Underground Station in Ilford. 

Located on land previously used as a builder’s yard and owned by TfL, the residential development is being brought forward as part of TfL’s property company’s wider programme which will see thousands of  new homes including affordable housing, built on its land across the capital.  

Known as Barkingside Yard, the scheme will deliver 98 new affordable homes through a mix of shared ownership and social rent.  

With construction set to complete in 2025, these new one, two, and three-bedroom homes will be split across three distinct buildings ranging up to five storeys in height. 

Life science campus approved in Stevenage 

Stevenage Borough Council’s planning committee has granted planning permission for one of Europe’s largest life science campuses in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. 

Elevate Quarter will be a 15-building campus set around a central green with an interconnecting network of paths and open spaces. 

The buildings will comprise various uses, including R&D labs and offices, GMP manufacturing facilities and flexible lab buildings, as well as training, innovation and collaboration spaces. 

There will also be restaurants, cafes, leisure facilities, and three Green Transport Hubs providing multi-storey car parking, bike parking and potential scooter/e-bike hire spaces. 

UBS Asset Management and Reef Group (Reef) are behind the scheme. 

Avant Homes acquires County Durham site 

Avant Homes has acquired a 21-acre site in Willington, County Durham. 

Westward Green will comprise 200 homes with a mix of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes. 

Every home at the development will be energy efficient and feature exclusive kitchen designs with integrated appliances and spacious gardens, said the housebuilder. 

Avant Homes is also making a £730,000 contribution toward initiatives that will benefit the local community in terms of open space, education and healthcare. 

UK to host energy conference next spring 

The London Energy Security Conference will be hosted in the UK next year to bring countries together from around the world to shore up critical energy supplies and make the system more resilient to shocks. 

Energy secretary Grant Shapps will invite senior government ministers and industry bosses to the conference.  

The conference will take place in the spring and focus on: 

• building energy resilience nationally and internationally; 
• speeding up the deployment of clean and resilient energy infrastructure; 
• advancing technologies and innovation to promote greater energy independence; 
• cooperating internationally to boost energy security around the world; and 
• helping to provide consumers and businesses with cheaper, more secure energy. 

15 August 2023
Laura Edgar and Prithvi Pandya, The Planner

Our planning news is published in association with The Planner, the official magazine of the Royal Town Planning Institute.