Warrington paves way for Omega next phase

The council is expected to approve plans for 617 homes at the 575-acre Omega Warrington site, while also giving the nod to a 2.2m sq ft industrial hub for retailer Home Bargains nearby that will be ruled on by St Helens Council.

The 50-acre residential development at Omega South in Warrington – the former site of RAF Burtonwood Airfield – has been recommended for approval by Warrington Council’s planning officers. 

The application is for a 617-home scheme across four separate parcels of land varying in size from 13.6 acres to 6.7 acres. 

Of the total, 317 of the homes had prior planning consent as part of the Omega Warrington masterplan, but an additional 300 units were then added to the plans in favour of offices. 

Omega is being developed by a partnership between Homes England, which owns the land, and Omega Warrington, known as OWL, a joint venture between Miller Developments and KUC Properties.

The project team includes Progress as planning consultants, Chetwoods as architect, Place on Earth as landscape architect, and WSP as civil and transport engineer and acoustics consultant. 

Home Bargains wants to double in size over the next five years

Meanwhile, on a neighbouring plot under St Helens’ jurisdiction, Home Bargains wants to build a 2.2m sq ft distribution complex. 

Home Bargains’ wants to expand from 500 to 1,000 stores nationwide and increase its staff to 40,000 from 22,000 over the next five years. 

Warrington Council, whose planning committee meets next week, has been asked to raise a ‘no objection’ to the scheme. 

The project team for the scheme includes Chetwood Architects, planning consultant Progress, landscape architects Barton Howe Associates and Place on Earth, transport consultants WSP and utilities infrastructure consultant Hannan. 

Omega Warrington, located on a site off the M62 between Manchester and Liverpool, was acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland and Miller Homes almost two decades ago.  

The masterplan divides the site into several zones, some of which have already been developed and others that are earmarked for development as part of this and future planning applications. 

Food distributor Brake Bros took a 200,000 sq ft design-and-build unit on the north side in 2012 in what was the first letting at Omega Warrington. 

Hermes and Travis Perkins took space a year later, and Amazon, The Hut Group and Royal Mail have followed suit.