Proposals in for 270,000 sq ft Formby commercial masterplan
Lidl and M&S foodstores will lead the way, but the vast majority of the proposed development off the Formby bypass will be industrial floorspace.
A hybrid application has now been lodged with Sefton Council by applicant Sefton & Formby Developments.
The consultation process for the project in late 2024 drew a storm of criticism, with Place North West’s comments section recording dozens of angry comments on the potential relocation of M&S Foodhall to the out-of-town location.
However, as S&FD explain in the online description of the project, the store in the Cloisters is “fundamentally too small” to accommodate a modern M&S Foodhall, a successful arm of the retail group that has expanded to include Plant Kitchen and Eat Well areas.
Scheme promoter Sefton & Formby Developments is working with Mono Architectural Design and Plan A on the project.
TPM is advising as landscape architect. Remada Geo Consultants and JPM Acoustics are also no the professional team.
The development is billed as The Point, and if approved would sit on 31 acres north of Formby Business Park, east of the A565 Formby bypass. The land is allocated as a strategic employment site.
The M&S store at The Point would be just under 16,000 sq ft, slightly smaller than the proposed Lidl
Full consent is sought for:
- A signal-controlled junction on Formby bypass, footways and cycle paths, and associated works as an initial infrastructure phase.
- This would be followed by infrastructure works including an estate road and internal roundabout, utility supply, electricity sub-stations, surface water and flood risk attenuation, including a pumping station, and landscaping.
- A Lidl and a full-line M&S store with access, servicing and parking areas, plant compound, landscaping and associated works as phases three and four.
- Phase five would include a Costa drive-thru with access, servicing and parking areas, landscaping and associated works.
Outline consent is sought for:
- 18.7 acres of employment and development across use classes E(g), B2 and B8, along with associated infrastructure, as phase six.
- Infrastructure works to include an estate road, utility supplies, electricity sub-stations, surface water and flood risk attenuation and landscaping as phase seven.
- A drive-thru restaurant/shop with parking and associated works as phase eight.
- A community medical centre with access, parking, landscaping and associated works as phase nine.
Peter Wilkinson, on behalf of Sefton & Formby Developments, said: “If approved, it is estimated that over 1,000 full and part-time jobs would be created. The vast majority of these new jobs will be in areas such as manufacturing, light industrial uses, research and development, offices, storage and distribution. Hundreds of additional jobs will be created during the construction phase. We look forward to working with Sefton Council as the application progresses.”
At least 75% of the site will be for employment uses, potentially covering industrial & logistics, small-scale industrial units and R&D. Mono’s design & access statement said: “The proposed development will deliver the high-quality business park envisaged by the Local Plan policies, which will perform a strategic role in attracting significant local and inward investment and generating a high level of job outputs within a high-quality environment.”
To enable the business park element though, said the DAS, it is necessary for the plans to “include a limited number of other uses in order to cross-subsidise/enable the delivery of the proposed employment floorspace.
“In particular, these other uses will cross subsidise the construction of a new signal-controlled junction on Formby Bypass to provide access to the business park, will enable significant site constraints to be overcome and will facilitate the provision of essential infrastructure and utility supplies.”
Registered at Formby Business Park, the development company was formed in 2023.
Documents relating to the application can be viewed on Sefton Council’s planning portal with the reference DC/2024/02165.
The 90’s rang. They want their planning application back.
By Regen