Plans in for RSPCA Mossley Hall
Proposals have been lodged with Wigan Council for a 55,000 sq ft animal care facility that would allow the organisation to address a capacity crisis in the region.
Planner Turley is working with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the project, which has now gone through consultation ahead of local planning authority consideration.
The 55,199 sq ft project would be advanced at Mossley Hall Farm off Slag Lane in Lowton. The RSPCA said that it “would transform the care available to animals rescued from cruelty and neglect across the North West”.
The application site is wholly owned by Peel Land, which has worked with the RSPCA to enable the site’s progress.
The proposed centre would bring specialist veterinary care, assessment, rehabilitation, behavioural support and rehoming services for animals rescued by the RSPCA together on one purpose-built site.
There is, said the charity, a capacity crisis in the North West, with its centres currently full.
Cassie Newman, executive director of animal welfare operations at the RSPCA, said: “This is a major milestone in our ambition to transform animal welfare provision across the North West and give thousands of rescued animals the specialist care they urgently need.
“Demand for our services is increasing, our existing centres are full and too many animals are having to wait for the specialist veterinary care, rehabilitation and behavioural support they need.
“The proposed centre would bring those services together in one purpose-built location, helping us improve outcomes for animals and give them the best possible chance of recovery and a good life.
“We are extremely grateful to everyone who attended one of our consultation events, reviewed the proposals or shared their feedback with us. We have listened carefully to the views expressed and will continue to engage with the local community as the application progresses.”
Turley said that recognising the site’s location, the proposals adopt a low-rise, landscape-led design, with buildings arranged in smaller clusters to reduce their visual impact. The scheme would retain existing trees and hedgerows wherever possible, alongside native planting and new habitats that would deliver at least 10% biodiversity net gain on site.
Consultation was held across May and June. Feedback received has helped shape the proposal, with the main building and vet clinic now moved further back, around the location of the existing farm buildings, while the proposed car parking has been relocated away from the frontage so it can be more effectively screened from Byrom Lane.
Questions and concerns raised around traffic and access, the Green Belt, landscape, ecology and the future operation of the centre have also been carefully considered and are addressed through the plans and supporting assessments submitted, the consultancy said.
Advising the project team are:
- Project management & QS – AHR
- Architectural design – Rance Booth Smith Architects
- Planning – Turley
- Landscape – TEP
- Transport – ADL Traffic
- Ecology – TEP
- Flood risk & drainage – Arbtech
- Consultation & engagement – Charlotte Leach Communications
- Site investigation – Rogers Geotechnical Services
- Air quality – Miller Goodall
- Acoustics – Hann Tucker Associates
- Heritage – Orion Heritage
- Topographical – The Survey House
- Landscape – Rappor
- Lighting – Silcock Leedham Consulting Engineers
- Structural engineering – Topping Engineers
The new centre would serve animals from across the North West and neighbouring areas, including West and South Yorkshire.
More than a quarter of all dogs, cats and small pets rescued by the RSPCA last year came from the area that would be served by the proposed centre, with 5,072 animals needing care.
The site is intended to complement, rather than replace, the work of local RSPCA branches and their animal centres and veterinary clinics. The new centre would not treat privately owned pets; low-cost welfare veterinary care for eligible local pet owners would continue to be provided by RSPCA branch partners such as RSPCA Wigan, Leigh & District, Bolton, Bury and Oldham, and other local services through their existing vet clinics.
The proposed centre would include veterinary facilities for animals in RSPCA care, areas for intake and assessment, rehabilitation and recovery spaces, rehoming and behavioural support, as well as education and community space.
Mossley Hall was identified following an extensive assessment of more than 30 potential locations across the North West. The site is considered to offer the space, accessibility and setting needed to create a purpose-built centre capable of supporting animals rescued from cruelty and neglect across the region.
