Plans in for St Helens’ largest brownfield site

Developer BXB Cowley Hill has submitted a planning application to build 1,250 homes, a 100-bed hotel and 50,600 sq ft of commercial space on 104-acres of land off College Street, north of the town centre.

BXB Cowley Hill is a joint venture between developer Promenade Estates and land development company BXB, along with a housebuilder that is yet to be determined.

The homes are set to be delivered over four phases. The first phase will be at Cowley Street and contain 260 townhouses. This will be followed by phases of 345, 315, and 330 homes.

The development will sit on a portion of land that was formerly the Pilkington Glass Cowley Hill Works site. The land is owned by NSG Pilkington UK, which will continue to operate from its current glass-coating factory on a 40-acre site next to the proposed housing development.

Gary Goodman, director at BXB Cowley Hill, said: “This is a strategically vital site for St Helens in terms of the town’s ambitions for new homes and commercial infrastructure. Having regenerated numerous sites of this type we understand how best to knit together the various elements of the scheme and are pleased with the shape of our application.”

Cowley Hill Works has been recognised by St Helens Council as suitable for residential and commercial development and is the largest allocation within the emerging Local Plan for St Helens. The borough’s plan was approved by councillors last year and is expected to be submitted to the Government later this year.

The professional team on the Cowley Hill project includes Nexus Planning, Brock Carmichael, Curtins, RSK, ERAP Consultant Ecologists, TBA Landscape Architecture and Lexington.