EBL Widnes waterfront scheme approved
Construction company EBL Group has been given the green light by planners for the Boardwalk apartment scheme fronting the Mersey in Widnes.
Work will start early next year on the two six-storey blocks on the banks of the river. There will be 92 one- and two-bedroom apartments for the over-55s, in the conservation area of West Bank.
The development, by Halton-based construction and development business EBL Group, will take shape on the site of the former Cemex factory, on Terrace Road, which is now derelict.
Eddie Basnett, managing director, said: “We’re thrilled that The Boardwalk development is finally going ahead. It will provide much needed retirement living for older people in the local area.
“There is a real demand for housing like this because we have an ageing population yet the UK is not building enough of these kind of homes.
“When The Boardwalk opens we expect these apartments to get snapped up by active older people who want to downsize, have neighbours in the same age group as them and live somewhere that is future proof as they get older.”
As part of the project a 200-metre waterfront boardwalk will be built along the riverbank – which will complete the Halton section of the TransPennine Trail.
Residents of The Boardwalk will have views over the estuary and nature reserves of Spike Island and Wigg Island.
It will take 18 months to build the Boardwalk. Apartments will be available to rent or to buy.
Basnett said: “The Boardwalk has overcome a significant number of hurdles to come to fruition including the recession, failed partnerships with local housing associations and lack of funding from the Homes & Communities Agency.
“But EBL Group’s persistence has paid off and we’re delivering The Boardwalk under our banner as a private development without any other partners or government grants or incentives because we’ve always believed in this project.”
EBL Group is a privately-owned construction company which works across both the residential and commercial sectors while also specialising in home insurance repairs and operating a national commercial roofing division.
Widnes! – the swan emerges on the banks of the Mersey, a nice town these days and a popular place to live!
By Mersey
Widnes often gets unfairly clogged as an easy target by some. Some quite nice places around its environs, good road links, new bridge, north wales not far, handy for Liverpool, Manchester and North Cheshire. Just need to avoid the odd plastic scouser and toy drug dealers that knock about the place. If only Paul Simon hadn’t written that song there about wanting to get away.
By Bangers
Jingle bells, Widnes smells
By Uni
Widnes town centre is looking quite good these days too, with new development sensitively knitted in. It’s full of warm hearted Widnesians, and yes, Scousers too, but they’re real not plastic.
By Mersey