Next phase as offices greenlit for Daresbury
SCI-TECH Daresbury’s expansion is poised to enter another phase after Halton planning chiefs gave the green light for an application to build three three-storey offices – each with its own ‘plant level’ on top
Halton Borough Council’s development control committee decided the matter on Monday at the Municipal Building in Widnes.
The local authority had reported that there had been no objections to the project, although several trees will be removed to make way for the offices with replanting scheduled to take place.
A report published ahead of the meeting said the land, on Keckwick Lane, which would be making way for the project ‘appears to be ecologically quite poor’. However, it is close to the Green Belt and Daresbury Firs woodland and surrounded by fields.
The document said the proposed site has been earmarked as a ‘key area of change’ in the Halton Core Strategy.
Natural England government ecology advisers had been consulted and made no comment over the plans.
Planning permission conditions will be set to mitigate against loss of wildlife habitat and foraging land for animals such as hedgehogs, amphibians, birds and bats.
The largest of the offices is expected to provide 2175.38 square metres of floor space, and the second and third to each have 1,701.10 sq m.
Designs filed with the council showed that each building will have three floors of office with the fourth floor being a mix of external and internal areas for plants, plus showers and changing rooms.
The site, which is undeveloped and vacant, is bordered by Daresbury Expressway, Innovation Way and Keckwick Lane and TechSpace and Vanguard House.
The scheme’s applicant is Langtree, which is one of the joint venture developers behind Sci-Tech Daresbury along with the Science And Technology Facilities Council and Halton Borough Council. Planning officers had recommended the scheme for approval.
Sci-Tech Daresbury is the focus of the Daresbury enterprise zone, which has tax breaks and other benefits for incubator companies. ● More on Sci-Tech Daresbury’s expansion: Page 34 ●