Creating new homes on a former factory site

Completed in 2020, this project revitalised a former flooring factory site with 51 new affordable homes alongside a new Lidl supermarket and commercial retail units.

Several previous attempts had been made to bring the site forward for a single housing or commercial use, but none proved viable. A new collaborative way had to be found to regenerate the site and, working with multiple parties, we were able to bring forward a suitable mixed-used masterplan.

A team was formed with Lidl to deliver a new Lidl supermarket, commercial units and 51 new homes. A comprehensive collaboration agreement was entered into with Lidl for a joint planning application, subsequent acquisition, and development of the site. This proved key to unlocking the site and making the project a resounding success.

The site had previously been allocated as a strategic employment site in West Lancashire Borough Council’s Local Plan meaning it was ‘protected’ from a change of use in planning policy terms unless a compelling and deliverable change of use could be offered.

We were able to demonstrate the site was obsolete for industrial use having been marketed many times without a buyer or occupier coming forward. We also showed that any potential employment impacts were negated by the job creation afforded by the new food store and commercial units.

Within the site itself, our due diligence revealed mixed levels of heavy contamination and landfill, informing the best locations for the proposed land uses. Site access and all services including drainage, gas and electricity were required to be delivered through the only adoptable highway access to the site, which had to be shared by all developing parties, including all traffic flows in the new scheme.

Managed by Jigsaw Homes, Atkinson Road now provides energy efficient affordable homes and was named ‘Housing Development of the Year’ at the 2022 Northern Housing Awards.