D-Day for huge plans to build 240 apartments in Warrington town centre
Councillors are due to decide whether 240 affordable apartments can be built at a former sports centre in Warrington town centre.
By Cheshire Live
Councillors are due to decide whether 240 affordable apartments can be built at a former sports centre in Warrington town centre.
Habiko’s application proposes two six-storey buildings on the former DW Sports site on Bank Street. The development would also include an amenity garden, cycle storage, bin storage and associated works.
Warrington Borough Council’s development management committee is expected to consider the application from 6pm today, Thursday.
The committee previously resolved in May to grant planning permission, subject to conditions and a legal agreement. Permission has not yet been issued while discussions over the agreement have continued.
A report to councillors says the scheme has always been proposed as 100 per cent affordable housing. It adds that an independently reviewed viability assessment found the development would only be viable with significant expected grant funding from Homes England, estimated at about £160,000 per apartment.
The application is returning to the committee so the affordable housing requirement can be removed from the Section 106 agreement. The report says this is expected to allow a fully affordable development to proceed, although it cannot be guaranteed through the planning process.
Council officers say the proposal would help meet a clear and demonstrable unmet need for housing in Warrington. They also describe the site as brownfield land in a sustainable town-centre location.
The application is recommended for approval, subject to planning conditions and a Section 106 legal agreement.