St Helens primed for 500 homes

Vistry Partnerships wants to build 164 homes in Thatto Heath, while Miller Homes has submitted plans for 338 homes on a historically Green Belt site in Rainford.

St Helens Council has now exchanged contracts with Vistry Partnerships for local authority-owned land in Thatto Heath, where Vistry will sell 81 open market homes under its Linden Homes brand. The other 83 homes will be developed by Torus,

Additionally, Vistry Partnerships has committed to delivering 25% of the homes as accessible, with 5% of homes at the enhanced level of disability compliance.

Advisers on the development include MPSL, Ridge, e3p, Professional Consult, Redmore Environmental, Urban Green, AES, Rachel Hacking Ecology and SCP.

The site, north of Elephant Lane, is located next to Thatto Heath railway station and has been unlocked in viability terms by funding from the Liverpool City Region’s Brownfield Land Fund.

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said: “Everyone in our region deserves the chance to have a quality, secure and accessible home they can call their own.

“Our funding is acting as a catalyst for developments just like this one right across our region that are making a real, genuine difference to people’s lives. By specifically targeting brownfield sites, we can transform once-forgotten areas back into thriving communities – and protect more of our green spaces too.”

Subject to planning permission, works are due to start on site by the end of the year, with the development completing in 2026.

Advised by Stantec, Miller has filed plans for land south of Higher Lane and east of Rookery Lane for 338 homes.

The professional team also includes Pegasus, SCP, TDS, Coopers, Ascerta, Wardell Armstrong, EnSafe, RSK and TPM Landscape.

The southern boundary of the 32.6-acre site is defined by the Rainford Linear Park, a former railway route.

Described by Stantec’s planning statement as “urban fringe”, the site is around 1.2km walking distance from Rainford village centre.

Although the site is listed on the proposals map within St Helens’ local plan, which was adopted this month, objections have already started to trickle in from local residents, citing concerns over the reuse of “prime” agricultural land and pressure on facilities in the area.

Stantec argues that the site should be released from the Green Belt in line with the local plan due to it making a low overall contribution to the Green Belt, having good development potential and being a sustainable location.

The application numbers for the two developments on St Helens’ planning portal are P/2022/0461/FUL for the Vistry scheme and P/2022/0480/FUL for Miller’s project.