Plans lodged for spine road to unlock 1,100 St Helens homes

The proposals form part of BXB Cowley Hill’s remediation of Pilkington’s former Cowley Hill glassworks off College Street.

BXB Cowley Hill is a joint venture between brownfield land specialist BXB and developer Promenade Estates.

The JV wants to create an internal spine road to serve the 104-acre Cowley Hill development after securing planning permission in March 2022 for up to 1,100 new homes, a hotel, and commercial space.

Connecting with the existing highway network at College Street and creating a new vehicle access point at Washway Lane, the road would run through the entire St Helens site.

Enabling works started on the wider project earlier this year, which will be delivered in four phases.

Plans for the spine road come as work starts on plot one, which will deliver 220 homes, a children’s play area, and an acre of public amenity space. Northern Land Agency has been appointed to market these homes.

Gary Goodman, director of BXB, said: “The delivery of the road unlocks the whole site as this application confirms the finished development platform level for the entire plot, drainage, and other infrastructure, entrances, and the site-wide landscaping and boundary treatments.

“It will coincide with the development platforms being completed on Plot 1 and provide an oven-ready solution for house builders.”

Nexus is the planning consultant for the scheme. Curtins is the highways engineer.

To find out more about the plans for the spine road, search for application number P/2023/0413/RES on St Helens Council’s planning portal.

Plans for the wider masterplan can be found by searching for application number P/2020/0083/OUEIA.

This is not the first time that BXB and Promenade Estates have worked together. Earlier this month, the JV was granted planning permission to deliver 130 homes and two stores in Thornton Cleveleys.