Double planning boost for Wirral Waters

Spades are finally in the ground on the Cheshire civils project: in the works since 2017, consented in 2019 but buffeted around the funding system for years since.

The two local authorities are creating separate lists of vetted contractors to assist with structural repairs, drainage works, and carriageway maintenance.

It was a clean sweep for planning approvals on Wednesday morning, with councillors voting to grant permission to all four major applications on their desk.

Roadside Real Estate has announced its intent to acquire the Carlisle-based company’s entire Hills petrol station portfolio.

Closed in 1994, the railway facility is among a suite of pipeline transport projects for which sign-off will be requested next week.

Knight Frank is marketing the leasehold for a private hangar site with direct runway access at Manchester Airport.

The local authority’s cabinet will this week be asked to sign off the contractor’s appointment to deliver a four-arm roundabout on the New Whalley Old Road, opening up access for a projected 1,000+ homes.

Park-and-ride capacity will triple for commuters of the Leigh Guided Busway in Greater Manchester, once main contractor Jamieson Contracting completes the enhanced travel hub in October.

Network Rail has invested £20m in the critical year-long infrastructure project, a four-way roundabout joining central Stockport to Edgeley by road over the mainline railway.

Due to launch in the next few weeks, the Growth and Housing Accelerator Fund will provide local authorities with cash to build the transport infrastructure required to deliver previously unviable housing and commercial projects.

The council will file a formal objection to a transport & works act order relating to the Stalybridge-Diggle part of Network Rail’s Transpennine Route Upgrade railway improvement project.

Optimising road layouts, improving traffic signal junctions, and upgrading pedestrian accessibility are the core components of the Town Centre Access Scheme, which began this week.

Transport-led regeneration is becoming a defining feature of Tameside’s strategy to deliver good growth, development that is sustainable, inclusive, and rooted in long-term placemaking, writes Nicola Elsworth of Tameside Council.

Almost £90m for the Carrington Relief Road, £70m for a potentially Ryder Cup-clinching highway, and £60m for a new Metrolink station in North Manchester are among the projects given a significant equity boost.

Gleeson’s plans for 85 homes off Blackburn Road in Oswaldtwistle have been refused, while a relief road to serve the emerging Huncoat Garden Village has been greenlit.

From marinas to innovation districts, Northern leaders pitched £500m investment visions for their regions at this Dragons Den-style event.

Mark Robinson, director of economy and place at Rochdale Council, and Richard Jones, Northern Cities Executive at Arcadis, discuss two major developments in the borough.

Approved in principle last summer, the 1,328-home ECF-led development needs next week’s planning committee to approve temporary bus depots and alternative provision for roosts in buildings set for demolition.

Mayors, city leaders, and Combined Authority officials from across the Midlands, the North of England, and Scotland used a roundtable hosted by Place North to argue that the UK’s next wave of growth will be driven by regional cities, highlighting opportunities in AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and housing, while calling for deeper devolution and stronger infrastructure investment.