Warrington shoots down £11m retirement resi
Defying officer recommendation, the council rejected McCarthy Stone’s application for 36 senior living apartments at Watercress Farm in Lymm.
Councillors debated the application for around an hour during the development management control meeting last week. They took issue with the car parking provision, which will accommodate 26 vehicles with EV charging access for each space.
The nail in the coffin was the lack of affordable homes on site. This was the ultimate reason for the refusal.
The refusal followed years of McCarthy Stone working with Warrington Council on the project, which sits on an acre allocated for residential development.
McCarthy Stone submitted the planning application for the scheme in 2022 – and then steadily decreased its scale from the original 45 apartments to 42 in September 2023 to the current proposed 36.
Ciaran Aldridge, Northern region divisional managing director for the senior living developer, said: “Having worked collaboratively over many months to finalise a scheme that was considered acceptable by planning officers and statutory consultees, we are extremely frustrated that our application for a new retirement living development in Lymm was refused against officer recommendation.
“It is especially disappointing given the site’s allocation for development in the Warrington Local Plan and the emphasis from the new Labour Government to deliver more homes on sites such as Watercress Farm,” he continued.
Aldridge said he would continue to work with the council, but noted that an appeal was the most likely next course of action.
If the developer does go to appeal and is successful, it will be able to commence building the 32,900 sq ft senior living complex. The part two-, part there-storey building would comprise 24 one-bedroom flats and 12 two-bedroom ones. There would also be patio areas for ground-floor apartments, a residents’ lounge, and a guest suite.
Access to the development would be from Thirlmere Drive, which also has a footpath that would be extended to reach the site.
The project has an estimated gross development value of £11.3m, according to a viability statement from Alder King.
The Planning Bureau was the planning consultant for the project, which was designed by MCK Architects. The project team also includes flood risk assessor Lees Roxburgh, arboricultural expert Keen Consultants, biodiversity and ecology consultant Biocensus, site investigator Clancy Consulting, and energy consultant Focus. Transport Planning, Three Dragons, and Cavendish round out the project team.
You can learn more about the application by searching application reference number 2023/00608/FULM on Warrington Council’s planning portal.
Scandalous decision
By Tannoy
It reaIIy is time this totaI nonsense of CounciIIors fIying in the face of Officer recommendation was stopped once and for aII. Why shouId DeveIopers continuaIIy pick up the tab for quaIity appIications which, as is the case here, tick aII the boxes for deveIopment onIy to be frustrated by ‘personaI agendas’? Another appeaI at the Tax Payers expense any time soon?!!
By David SIeath
The architectural design is rather insipid though.
Time for Lymm CP or Warrington Borough Council to draw up design codes for their area(s) as per LURA 2023.
By Rye
No affordable housing onsite?!
It’s McCartney Stone…in Lymm. Why would you expect affordable housing on-site. Take a cash contribution to provision elsewhere.
I’m laughing, but inside I’m crying at the lack of housing in the round.
By DenseCity
I’d shoot it down just for being ugly . Not a patch on the recent McCartney Stone design in Knutsford.
By Anonymous
Good. Rushgreen Road is already a nightmare, and that’s before the completion of ‘Narrowboat View’ (which has quietly dropped its plans for two bedroom properties in the last couple of months).
By BC
To be fair, the design is utterly depressing. Not good enough, but at the same time if the planners approve, councillors should not block it. No wonder construction firms are going bust, planning is killing so many schemes be it through nonsense refusals or just the complete lack of resources to process schemes in the appropriate time.
By Dan
Consider the resales issue of such flats. Over 1000 empty across the country, some for years and loosing thousands of pounds in value for inherited home owners who cant sell and have to continue to pay the full management fee.
By Anonymous
I was considering a move to this development if planning was granted. But I really do not like the bland exterior. Looks more like a Council estate.
I would expect far better from this Company.
By Anonymous
Like others on this site. Find the design very disappointing and like Council flats.
Would definitely purchase if a more attractive design.
By Anonymous