Axa plots 50,000 sq ft Morecambe office

The insurance giant has put forward proposals to build a 50,000 sq ft office along with a 17,200 sq ft Aldi store at a site on Ovangle Road, near the White Lund Industrial estate in Morecambe.

Axa is proposing to replace its existing two storey office building on the site, which is bordered by Ovangle Road and a former railway line, now used as a cycle route, with a new facility.

This is likely to be a three-storey, L-shaped block bordering Northgate, with around 130 car parking spaces.

To the Ovangle Road end of the site, Axa is also proposing to bring forward a 17,200 sq ft Aldi store, which will replace the existing office block. Once this is delivered, Aldi will relocate from its existing store on Morecambe Road, opening up this site for a non-retail redevelopment.

According to an Environmental Assessment Impact screening report, authored by Lambert Smith Hampton, the design of the buildings is yet to be finalised, but Fletcher Rae is on board as architect.

The report added Axa “wishes to move swiftly” with its planning application for the site, and LSH argued that an EIA should not be required. The four-acre site is currently within Axa’s ownership.

Axa’s existing office in Morecambe is its only site in Lancashire, and its third in the North West, where it also has offices in Bolton and Manchester.

The provisional site plan by architect Fletcher Rae