New life set for old Radcliffe Pool and Fitness Centre site
Bury councillors have been recommended to approve Watson Homes and Great Places Housing Group’s plans for 132 apartments, a pub, and offices.
The decision regarding the Green Street site’s future will ultimately be made at Bury Council’s planning committee meeting on 27 June.
If Watson and Great Places are successful, Radcliffe will receive 97 flats available for shared ownership or affordable rent. The remaining 35 apartments will be designated as market rent.
Of the 132 one- and two-bedroom flats proposed, 97 would reside in a purely residential building of up to six storeys in height. This resi building would sit by the site’s northern boundary and would comprise two blocks with separate entrances.
The remaining 35 would be in a second, mixed-use building of up to six storeys. This building would contain the pub and two commercial units on its ground floor, offices on the first and second floors, and flats on the floors above.
In total, there is 13,000 sq ft of commercial space proposed. That includes a new home office for Watson, which currently is based in Salford.
All of this would be constructed on brownfield land that sits between Green Street, Pilkington Way, and Blackburn Street in Radcliffe’s town centre. The site held the Radcliffe Pool and Fitness Centre until 2016, when the building was demolished. More recently, it has been a car park and a Covid testing centre.
Cars would be able to access the two buildings via Green Street. There would be 57 car parking spaces and five disabled for the mixed-use building, while the residential complex would have access to 43 car parking spaces and three disabled.
Bury planning officers praised the project in their notes, writing “The proposed development would deliver the regeneration of a much-needed, longstanding vacant town centre site with a strong architectural response in scale and design.
“The proposed development is in a highly sustainable location and would deliver new housing and business without harm to listed buildings, residential amenity, or site constraints.”
TADW Architects designed the scheme for Watson and Great Places, as well as submitted the planning application. The project team also includes structural and civil engineer Elluc, landscape designer Enzygo, and traffic and highways consultant SCP.
Omnia is the air quality consultant and Braiden Acoustics is handling noise. LK Group is in charge of contaminated land strategies and Murray Consulting is heading up the arboricultural side of things. TWC is the BREEAM consultant, Tyrer Ecological the biodiversity and ecology expert, and JWC Conservation the listed building assessor.
Square CGI is the creator of the project’s visuals.
To learn more about the scheme, search 68998 on Bury Council’s planning portal.
Or to put it another way…local leisure facility closes and is replaced with drab low quality residential blocks and office space in a town centre with no commercial demand. Surely a swimming and leisure facility is better suited to the site as per original promises by Bury Council? Shambolic.
By JK
That looks a really poorly designed scheme. Radcliffe is very up and coming (some roads are well above £300/ft2), so they could have done something to enhance the site. I agree with JK.
By Heritage Action
The swimming and leisure facility is going in the new Radcliffe Civic Hub building… how is this shambolic?
By Anonymous
Radcliffe is already heavily congested in that area at peak times, so another proposal being given a recommendation with seemingly no thought as to the town’s supporting infrastructure.
By Anonymous
I hope it’s a micro pub for just one or two customers as a car park seems nonexistent.
By EAH
How has this had regard to local identity character and context? This completely contradicts the NPPF and planning policy on good design. Being at a prominant point in the town centre, these buildings will be even more dominant. Such poor design reminds me of the early 2000s rubbish when it was all about money. Another missed opportunity for the town.
By Rs
Love the idea, but, more parking spaces will be disappearing, especially due to the other development in the center that has little parking left.
Please ensure parking is covered, no point developing areas where limited parking is available. Perhaps a multi car park should be added?
By Shirley Simmons
Sorry Anonymous, I missed the Radcliffe Civic Hub announcement. In any case, it’s highly unlikely that is going to be delivered on time (if at all, hopefully I’m wrong!) but Radcliffe Pool closed in 2015 so it’s going to be c.10yrs before Radcliffe has a leisure facility – that’s a whole generation of school kids with no local facility. That’s the shambolic part. As the rest of the thread shows, not much love for this overdeveloped mess being proposed.
By JK
It looks ridiculous. not in keeping with the rest of the buildings. Again parking will be the issue. Also the traffic at the junction near the lights is at a standstill at evening times now more people trying to get in and out via green street and Pilkington way will make it impossible. Offices parking? there is no parking in Radcliffe the council seem to think everyone can walk get the bus etc well Your wrong. think again. This is a mess. Just boxes to accommodate as many as possible .
By Annon
Hope this being built means Bury Council will leave Elton reservoir and neighbouring land alone and keep some greenery in Radcliffe.
By Ant
It’s OK to build new residences but where is the shopping with all these new people there is not enough shopping unless you go to bury
By Mrs kneale
The hub should have gone on this site and the precinct redeveloped with apartments above retail . Radcliffe doesnt want to be just a housing estate for Bury .
By SH
The people here whinging about a lack of parking – NOT EVERYONE OWNS A CAR OR DRIVES. Across Bury, in 2017, the number of cars per head was 0.52. So it’s perfectly acceptable to build new homes that have no car parking, because they will primarily attract people who don’t use a car.
There is a bus station around the corner, a Metrolink a 5 minute walk away, a cycleway that goes to Salford literally next door to this, an Asda and Lidl about a 2 minute walk away.
Why is everyone focussed on driving?
By Radcliffe raised