Conlon gets cracking at Pyramid Park
Bury Council’s appointed contractor is now on site delivering remediation and site enabling works as the 7.4-acre brownfield site is lined up for town centre homes.
Watson Homes is the local authority’s preferred bidder to deliver around 200 homes across a pair of sites, at Pyramid Park and the land above the underground Q-Park, upping town centre residential being a key component of the Bury Town Centre Masterplan.
Conlon Construction has now begun its work at Pyramid Park, the site of the former Knowsley Street railway station, which closed in 1970.
Remediation work is being funded by a £1.7m grant from the government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund, secured in 2023.
Cllr Charlotte Morris, cabinet member for regeneration and growth at Bury Council, said: “Today marks an important landmark for the council in meeting growing housing demand and creating thriving communities.
“By bringing forward Pyramid Park and Q-Park, two strategically important brownfield sites that sit at the heart of our ambitions for Bury town centre we are recognising their enormous potential and now turning that potential into reality. This is the start of things to come as part of regeneration of Bury town centre.”
Pyramid Park, long identified as a big regeneration opportunity, had become problematic, attracting antisocial behaviour, made worse due to poor visibility and the lack of ground level access to the site from the town centre.
Conlon will work with several local firms throughout its contract, including the LK Group and Cheetham Hill Construction.
Brownfield release funding was secured in 2023. Credit: via TWA
Darren Lee, commercial director at Conlon Construction, said: “We are proud to be working with Bury Council on such a pivotal regeneration project at Pyramid Park.
“This site has huge potential to positively transform the town centre, and we’re looking forward to delivering the enabling works that will unlock it for high-quality housing. It’s especially rewarding to be involving local businesses throughout and supporting the borough’s growth and community aspirations.”
For Q-Park’s part, although the scheme was built in the late 2000s as part of Ask and Bury’s Townside development, the airspace above the car park has remained vacant ever since. The existing Q-Park structure is already designed to accommodate the construction and weighting of a future residential building, with extra-care accommodation also to be delivered as part of the scheme.
Rob Watson, director at Watson Construction, said: “This flagship development will help unlock further investment in the town centre. The council set out a clear brief on housing mix and tenure, shaped by local housing need and focused on creating a new community that improves people’s lives.
“From a developer’s perspective, the council’s vision — and the way it has been communicated throughout the process — has been refreshing. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver a scheme that will further support the growth and regeneration of Bury town centre.”
Bury has previously worked with Watson on projects including Green Street site in Radcliffe town centre.
