Grace Park overhaul and Halsnead homes set for Knowsley go-ahead
Onward Homes and Starship Build want to deliver 88 affordable homes at the garden village, while the council plans to revamp the Halewood green space with two artificial pitches and a clubhouse.
Approval is recommended for both projects.
Onward and its construction partner Starship submitted the plans for part of Halsnead Garden Village sustainable urban extension in January.
DK Architects and Layer Studio are working on the scheme, along with Eden, Amenity Tree and Curtins.
Onward’s intended site is currently home to Halsnead Farm, and is accessed from Fox’s Bank Lane.
The site is located south of the M62, less than a mile to the east of Junction 6, and on the other side of the motorway from Taylor Wimpey’s larger Fox’s Bank Lane scheme.
Wholly affordable, registered provider Onward will offer a mix of tenures across 51 houses and 37 flats. These break down as 33 one-beds, 21 two-beds, 20 three-beds, and 14-four-beds.
Only a handful of objections have been made across two rounds of consultation.
The application’s reference number on the Knowsley Council planning portal is 25/00617/FUL.
Apartment blocks form a gateway at the Fox’s Bank Lane entrance. Credit: planning documents
At Grace Park, Wood Road, Knowsley Council proposes a redevelopment project involving the replacement of grass pitches with two artificial sports pitches, a civic plaza, clubhouse including changing facilities and a café, along with parking for 47 cars and floodlighting.
There will also be a shared pedestrian and cycle path linking Leathers Lane to Wood Road.
WSP is advising on the project, which forms part of the drive by Knowsley to level up health inequalities, and is thus backed by its Levelling Up Fund allocation.
The professional team also includes Steve Wells Associates, the project team includes Survey Operations, Wardell Armstrong, Ascerta, and SureScreen Scientifics.
Other parts of the park, such as outdoor gym equipment, pond, and children’s play park will remain. One of the two pitches will be full size, and one for five-a-side football.
The plans have garnered 58 letters of support and 20 objections, and can be viewed in full on Knowsley’s planning portal, using the reference 26/00037/KMBC1.
