Bellway awaits go-ahead for Bury housing

The housebuilder is hoping to win consent to build 97 homes on the site of the former Andrew Industries factory off Walshaw Road. 

The factory closed in March 2019 after Lydall Industrial Filtration, which bought Andrew Industries’ filtration division in 2014, decided not to renew its lease.

Accrington-based Andrew Industries put the 6.4-acre site up for sale later that year. 

The company then won outline planning consent to demolish the 86,000 sq ft of manufacturing space at the site and replace it with 108 houses.  

However, work to demolish the existing structures is yet to take place and the number of homes proposed has been slightly scaled back since the submission of the outline application two years ago.

Bellway’s application, lodged in January, is seeking consent to clear the site and build 97 detached, semi-detached and terraced homes. 

The proposals are recommended for approval by Bury Council, whose planning committee meets next Thursday. 

Subject to approval, Bellway would be required to make a contribution of £275,888 towards recreational facilities in the borough but there would be no requirement for the developer to provide affordable housing as the site benefits from vacant building credit. 

Vacant building credit was introduced in 2014 as an incentive for developers to redevelop vacant buildings by reducing the affordable housing requirement.