The site is allocated for employment uses. Credit: via LCC

Maple Grove refreshes 1.7m sq ft Cuerden vision 

The developer is to lodge a revised planning application for the 160-acre Lancashire Central site in the coming weeks, four years after Ikea pulled out of anchoring the scheme. 

Maple Grove is working in partnership with Lancashire County Council on scaled-back proposals for the site. 

The scheme will deliver around 1.7m sq ft of commercial floorspace, with a focus on employment uses. 

The county council predicts the Cuerden project could deliver a £90m boost to the local economy annually and create around 2,000 jobs. 

As well as industrial space, Lancashire Central could also feature retail units, restaurants, a gym and crèche, a health centre and pharmacy and leisure facilities. 

In addition, 119 homes are proposed alongside upgrades to infrastructure and green space. 

A consultation on the scheme is underway ahead of the submission of a planning application to the county council in the coming weeks. 

Detailed planning permission will be sought for site access and a proportion of core green infrastructure and outline planning permission will be sought for all other aspects of the proposals through a series of parameters, which will guide the future development of the site. 

“These are exciting proposals for this key strategic employment site in the heart of the county,” said Steve Burns, head of strategic development at Lancashire County Council. 

“[The project] would create thousands of jobs, both during construction and upon completion, and is a significant opportunity for local skills development opportunities and social value.” 

Karen Hirst, managing director at Maple Grove Developments, added: “This is a key project for Maple Grove and the Eric Wright Group, which we are looking forward to delivering, not least because it is one of the closest schemes to our head office here in Lancashire.” 

Speaking at Place North West event earlier this year, Hirst said Ikea pulling out of the project in 2018 might “turn out to be a positive”.

“I think what we can come forward [with] will create a better opportunity with greater job creation,” she said.

Consent for an earlier iteration of the project was granted in 2017 and featured plans for 2m sq ft of commercial space including:

  • 840,000 sq ft general employment space, warehousing and light industrial
  • 600,000 sq ft large logistics or other non-retail use
  • 260,000 sq ft of mixed commercial, food retail, hotel and car sales
  • 130,000 sq ft for business and industrial hybrid units
  • 210 new homes

The overall floorspace in the updated scheme is 300,000 sq ft less than previously proposed and a breakdown of the 1.7m sq ft has not yet been provided.

Your Comments

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Hugely unambitious. No consideration for the terribly congested roads around the site. Feel sorry for the existing houses at the centre of this development. As for the proposed new housing, who would want to live in an industrial estate?
Lancashire County Council and South Ribble Council’s both declared climate emergencies but are content to allow hundreds of diesel lorries into their area.

By Katie

I can understand commercial distribution use due to the access to the motorways but do feel sorry for the existing residents. Would this plot not be perfect for a new, modern hospital? With the expansion of Cottam, Preston Royal will sink with demand, whilst developments around Leyland and Euxton will only add to this, and Chorley Hospitals woe’s.

By Calum

This just turns South Ribble into a giant warehouse.
There’s already logistic hub Walton Summit, The Matrix, Leyland Business Park two minutes alway, plus the Botnay Bay scheme at Chorley. Will drive down prices overall for warehousing.

By Peter

@Katie. I agree. This feels like a relic from another era.

The proposed cricket ground on the other side of the road, on the other hand, has potential.

By SW

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