Crown Gas & Power HQ clears Bury planning

Teed up by a council land sale in January, consent for the last plot at Chamberhall Business Park will allow the firm to build a 49,000 sq ft HQ and 25,000 sq ft across five industrial units.

Bury agreed to sell the land to Crown, a prized employer in the area, in January, with the council’s cabinet signing off a £200,000 deal for around five acres.

As set out in adviser P4’s planning statement, the project represents a £12m investment in the family-owned business’s home area. Currently employing around 120 people, it envisages that number reaching 300 in the next few years.

Barrowclough Architects has designed the scheme. Other advisers include PWA, Civic Earth, Dynamic Transport Planning, KGA, Rachel Hacking Ecology, DEP, Bowland Tree Consultancy and Miller Goodall.

Crown’s application went to planning committee on 21 April, and was approved with conditions.

The headquarters building, in the western half of the site, will comprise 48,785 sq ft over four floors, fronting, but set back from, Harvard Road.

Parking will be located to the front and sides, providing 193 spaces including 10 accessible spaces and 20 EV spaces. There will be 48 cycle spaces and two motorcycle spaces.

The development also proposes ancillary sports facilities to provide an all weather 5-a-side football pitch and two padel courts.

Most of the ground floor will be given over to staff facilities, including gym, changing facilities and canteen with breakout office spaces and meeting rooms.

The plan for the industrial units in the site’s eastern portion is that they will be multi-let. There will be four units of around 4,800 sq ft each, and a larger unit of 6,180 sq ft. Access for these units will be from Magdalene Road.

A large part of the scheme’s proposed landscaping will be formed around the retained pond with other areas of landscaping along the site boundaries, planted with a mix of native and ornamental trees, native shrub and native hedgerows.

Papers relating to the scheme can be seen on Bury’s planning portal, reference 72790.