Lane End appointed on Stockport hat factory homes

Contractor Lane End Group is to start work for Viaduct Housing Partnership on 144 homes at the former Battersby hat works site on Hempshaw Lane, Offerton.

The brownfield development obtained consent in April 2018 and will include the refurbishment of the existing mill buildings into 45 homes, including 16 apartments, 15 houses, and 13 mews homes, while a feature water tower will also be retained and used.

There will also be 99 new-build homes, with a mix of 48 two-beds, 33 three-beds, and 11-four beds, alongside seven two-bed mews houses.

More than half the homes, at 79, will be shared ownership, with 55 brought forward for market sale and 10 for affordable rent.

Viaduct is a 2017-founded development partnership between Stockport Council and its arms length management organisation Stockport Homes.

Richard Harrison, managing director of Lane End, which has already delivered two projects with Viaduct, said: “For our business to be transforming an historic building in the Battersby Hat Factory really is a statement project in our expanding portfolio of developments.

“The factory is the last remaining example of Stockport’s hat-making tradition and we’re delighted to be restoring that with a blend of new housing which will bring the old building back to life.

“We worked extremely hard to deliver this through planning and it’s a testament to the Lane End team to what can be achieved on an existing brownfield site. The development we will create is a fantastic example of new housing alongside an iconic building in an area that is rich in industrial heritage.”

The scheme has been designed by PRP Architects, with Urban Green working on landscaping.