THING OF THE WEEK
PROFIT… Remember this? Place North West reported back in 2020 that this listed water tower in Everton was to be transformed into a luxury short-stay apartment. Now that planning permission has been granted, the building is going under the hammer with a guide price of £150,000. Not much, you might think, for a piece of history. But, when you consider it last sold in 2019 for around £70,000, a sale at guide price would mean a decent profit for owner Grey Goose – not the posh vodka people. SDL Auctions is selling off the asset at its event on 27 October.
Credit: via GEM PR
IN REAL LIFE… When it comes to new buildings it is always fun to compare the finished product to the concept CGIs. The pressure was on for the project team behind Warrington Youth Zone given the striking colours proposed, but as you can see, the finished product (left) looks a lot like the scheme proposed. Conlon Construction wrapped up work on the £7m development earlier this week.
CGI for Bellway’s proposals in Westhoughton. Credit: via planning documents
PUNCHDRUNK… Bolton Council has more wounds to lick after yet another defeat to Bellway at appeal. The planning inspectorate has found in favour of the housebuilder on four separate occasions in relation to applications for homes across its Bowlands Hey masterplan. Most recently, two appeals against the refusal of phases three/four and five of the Westhoughton scheme – 119 and 183 homes respectively – saw Bellway come out on top. Previous appeals in 2017 and 2020 for a total of 296 homes also went the developer’s way. Bolton Council’s planning officers must be pulling their hair out. On each of the four occasions, they have recommended that the planning committee should approve the projects – each time they have been ignored.
Credit: via Sefton Council
FLUME GLOOM... Southport’s £75m Marine Lake Events Centre is the centrepiece of its regeneration proposals and has been getting a lot of press lately. Meanwhile, the reopening of an existing Southport attraction, Splash World, has been pushed back. The indoor waterpark closed in 2019 for repairs and the project has been plagued by delays. In the summer, Sefton Council announced its intention to reopen Splash World this month but more delays mean that the date has been revised. The authority has now said that the taps will not be turned back on until 2023.
Credit: Place North West
TURNING UP THE HEAT… Tim Heatley spoke passionately about his housing philosophy at Place North West’s RESI update this week. He also spoke quickly. Donning his now trademark Adidas Gazelles – pink, if you’re interested – the star of BBC’s Manctopia documentary provided attendees with a whistle-stop tour through Capital & Centric’s North West housing projects. In what must be a world record, he whizzed through more than 100 slides inside the allocated 15 minutes. Talk about developers setting the pace.
I was at the Resi Event Tim Heatley was the stand out by some margin . What a great guy , yes he spoke fast but it was not a problem . He is a major asset for Manchester Liverpool would massively benefit from someone of Tim’s caliber , ethics and can do.
Good event but too much on affordable sector.
By Paul M - Woolton
What is laughable about the Everton Water Tower flats scheme is that this building is 150ft in height, and yet the council planning committee have allowed it even though they would normally have a hernia if a developer proposed a new build in that area of anywhere near that height, unless it was a new stand for LFC.
Height restrictions are holding Liverpool back, the attitudes of a small group of councillors need to change drastically as developers are already avoiding the city.
By Anonymous