Green light for 545-home mixed-use Runcorn masterplan

Two sites at Heath Business and Technical Park and land north of Heath Road South, comprising 57 acres, are to be developed after approval from Halton Council.

SOG Group’s outline Heath Park scheme features 545 homes, a hotel, senior living and extra care facilities, flexible floorspace for offices.

There is also a conference centre, plus retail and leisure units which include food and drink outlets, detailed in the plans.

The project has been described by the developer as a ‘high quality urban village’ and likened to the Wirral’s Port Sunlight.

Approval at Halton’s development management committee had been recommended subject to a raft of conditions and S106 agreements including transport, junction, and recreation improvements.

Hundreds of objections were lodged but planning officers felt the benefit of diversifying the site with potential for regeneration and sustainability outweighed any harms.

The brownfield site was formerly home to the HQ of ICI until the 1990’s, and according to the developer this scheme could create employment opportunities.

At this outline stage, SOG has indicated the housing mix will range from one- to four-bed properties, 25% of which will be classed as affordable.

Commenting on the planning win, John Lewis, SOG manging director said: “We are naturally pleased that outline planning permission has been granted for our visionary scheme to transform The Heath.

“The proposals which have evolved from four years of meticulous research will secure the long term future of a location that is such an important business and community asset for Runcorn. We now press on to engage with the right investors who can turn our vision into reality.”

The project team includes WSP, Amenity Tree, Greengage, ESG, EcoResponsive Environments, RAS, and LK Group,

To view the plans, search for reference number 22/00569/OUT on Halton Council’s planning portal.