Six planning stories to keep an eye on in Warrington in the past month

EVERY month, the Warrington Guardian covers a multitude of different planning stories.

April was no different, with a number of applications coming before Warrington Borough Council.

Some have been approved, others have been knocked back, and some have only just been submitted, and are awaiting a decision.

Here are six of the most prominent planning and development stories from the past month.

Angel of the North size airbase sculpture approved

A HUGE sculpture honouring the former RAF Burtonwood airbase along the side of the M62 has been given the go-ahead.

The sculpture – which at 22.8 metres would be larger than the Angel of the North near Newcastle – is earmarked for the centre point of Mountpark roundabout, within Omega South on Skyline Drive next to the M62.

The highlight of the art piece would be an iconic WWII American aircraft, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, which would be illuminated and bathed in WW2 searchlights at night.

The many warehouses and homes in the Omega vicinity – and the M62 itself – were built on land formerly occupied by Burtonwood airbase.

Full steam ahead for power station demolition plans

FRESH plans have been submitted for the demolition of the remaining structures at Fiddler’s Ferry power station.

The Cuerdley power station began operations in 1971 and operated for nearly 50 years before its closure for decommissioning in March 2020.

The site has been earmarked for housing and industrial use following demolition, and phase one is already underway, including the blowdown of four iconic cooling towers last December.

Plans are now in seeking approval to begin phase two, raxing all structures except the remaining cooling towers, main power station chimney stack and gas turbine building exhaust stack.

Future up in the air for closed gym

THE future of a vacant former gym building on a main route through the town remains up in the air after plans for its demolition were withdrawn.

Applicant Rodgers Leask Limited submitted an application to Warrington Borough Council in relation to the former DW Gym building, off Mersey Street near the town centre.

The gym closed in August 2020 after the firm called in administrators. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic was cited among the reasons why.

The closed DW Gym building on Mersey Street (Image: Google Maps)

Since then, the building appears run down, with an arson fire also being lit in the structure in May 2022.

The site would have been safely levelled off, with any excess rubble being transported off site and recycled where possible and a perimeter fence erected to reduce access.

Historic hall set for refurb after huge fire

EIGHT years after a major fire that caused severe damage, plans have been submitted to restore the abandoned but historic Daresbury Hall.

Having been devastated by the blaze back in 2016, work is planned to bring it back to its former glory.

New proposals have been submitted seeking to restore several aspects of the building to ‘conserve it for future generations’ and ‘bring it into long-term viable use’.

It has been noted that the proposals are for a ‘complete restoration and retention of the historic assets at Daresbury Hall’.

Back in July, it was reported that Daresbury Hall had been put on the market for £5million.

Housebuilder wins rights after previous developer collapses

A HOMEBUILDER has won the rights for a huge housing scheme after the previous developer collapsed into administration.

House by Urban Splash was behind plans to build 228 homes at Grappenhall Heys, which were approved by Warrington Borough Council’s planning committee in June 2021.

But the joint venture entered administration in May 2022, and the site, located to the south of Curzon Drive, east of Lichfield Avenue and west of Stansfield Drive, had seen no activity since permission was granted.

In August last year, Homes England confirmed it was seeking to appoint a new developer which would require fresh planning permission.

Now, following a competitive tender process, Redrow has confirmed it has exchanged contracts with Homes England to progress the 30-acre scheme.

Aldi aiming to double size of existing store

AN existing supermarket in Warrington could double in size if expansion plans are given the green light.

German chain Aldi has submitted plans to expand into two neighbouring units at Birchwood Shopping Centre formerly occupied by Argos.

The proposed extension is 775 square metres, providing an overall sales floor area of 1,407 square metres.

If approved, Aldi says the scheme will create five full-time and five part-time jobs, but it would result in the loss of 23 parking spaces.