Macclesfield’s Paradise Mill completes

The grade two-listed former silk mill on Park Lane, which was most recently used as offices, has been converted into 10 apartments. 

The five-storey scheme, led by a holding company called Allmand-Smith and built by Paradise Developments as the main contractor, is made up of two apartments on each floor, nine of which have two bedrooms. 

There is a one-bedroom flat on the ground floor. 

Additional work included the demolition of some of the building’s previous extensions. 

Allmand-Smith, the developer, is also the building’s owner. 

The mill was once used by Cartwright & Sheldon

With its headquarters at nearby Regency Mill, Allmand-Smith is the holding company for several other ventures, including Stormguard, a company that provides rain defences and draught excluders for homes. 

Stormguard manufactured the guttering for the Paradise Mill scheme. 

Built in 1860, the mill was first used by Cartwright & Sheldon, a local silk weaver. 

The mill was sold to the local Allmand-Smith family in the early 1980s. The family helped to open the Lower Paradise Mill Museum, alongside the Silk Heritage Trust.   

The museum, home to the largest known collection of jacquard hand silk looms in Europe, is on the same site as the residential development and the two mills are linked by one main stairwell, providing access to both mills simultaneously.   

During the development, the main stairwell was reconfigured to enable access to the third floor of the building. This had previously been accessed by an internal staircase that was removed to create the apartments. 

Sale-based structural engineer, BDI Engineering was the consultant for the staircase work. 

Plans for the conversion of Upper Paradise Mill, designed by Wilmslow-based architect NC Architecture, were approved in September 2016 and work began in April 2018. 

Haydock Slating, a heritage roofing contractor, replaced the roof.