Final Omega West shed and 130 Haydock homes set for approval
St Helens Council’s planning committee has been recommended to green light Miller Developments’ application for a 397,500 sq ft warehouse at Omega West and Hollins Strategic Land’s proposal for a new neighbourhood.
Whether or not the committee will vote in favour of the recommendations of its planning officers will be decided when the group meets on Tuesday. In the meantime, here is a brief look at the two major projects on the meeting’s agenda.
Omega West
Application reference number: P/2023/0189/RES
This reserved matters application comprises the final stage of Miller Developments’s Omega West project, itself part of the wider Omega Business Park. Omega Business Park is a major employment scheme being delivered by Miller, Homes England, and KUC Properties.
Omega West is made up of four warehouses, three of which are already under construction. These include an 870,000 sq ft shed for Home Bargains, a 505,000 sq ft warehouse for Iceland, and another 308,000 sq ft unit.
Unit four, which is the one up for planning permission on Tuesday, is set to be 397,500 sq ft, with offices and a gatehouse. Clad in grey metal, this speculatively built warehouse has been designed by Chetwood Architects.
If approved, unit four will sit on a 22-acre site accessed from Skyline Drive and Catalina Approach. There are easy traffic links to Junction 8 of the M62 as well.
There would be 360 parking spaces on the site, including 22 accessible spaces and 36 with EV charging capability. Plans submitted by Quod also include 80 spaces for cycle storage and another 25 for motorcycles.
PlaceOnEarth is the project’s landscape architect. Ian Murrant is the arboriculture consultant. DSSR is advising on lighting strategy. The Ecology Practice is the ecologist. WSP is advising on noise and vibration advisor, drainage, remediation, and highways consultant.
The Urbanists designed the draft illustrative masterplan for the project. Credit: via planning documents
Land west of Lodge Lane
Application reference number: P/2022/0063/OUP
There’s good reason for Hollins Strategic Land Outline to be optimistic ahead of Tuesday’s planning committee meeting, with officers recommending approval for its outline application for 130 homes on a triangular plot of land between the M6 and Lodge Lane in Haydock.
The project has already been adjusted since it was submitted in February last year. At that time, it included provision for 18,000 sq ft of employment space. This has been nixed in favour of a better residential layout, according to a committee report.
The homes themselves could range from two-bed apartments to five-bed houses, according to an indicative masterplan. This same plan includes sustainable drainage systems, tree-lined streets, and public open space alongside the 130 homes.
At least 30% of the homes would be designated affordable according to a condition attached to the prospected approval. Other suggested conditions include requiring bus stop improvements, play areas, and contributions to primary and secondary school places.
While the site is currently a greenfield area it is not Green Belt.
Sedgwick Associates is the planning consultant for the scheme. The project team also includes flood risk and drainage consultant Robert E Fry & Associates, noise consultant Professional Consult, and transport consultant Eddisons.
Urban Green is the project’s arboricultural, ecology, and design consultant. The Urbanists crafted the draft illustrative masterplan.
