Historic mill may go under the hammer
AN iconic Victorian mill in Stockport is on the market for £7.25m.
Dating back to 1880, Meadow Mill will go to auction later this month, with plans to turn it into hundreds of swanky apartments.
Current owners, William George Homes, bought the property in 2016 after it was put on the market for around £2.5m, but almost two years later the value of the 19th century mill has risen by just under £5m.
During that time the owners drew up extensive plans to turn it into a £20m ‘gateway’ development.
Plans to transform the failing and deteriorating mill into 213 apartments were approved by Stockport council earlier this year.
These would be made up of 50 studios, 62 one bedroom, seven one bedroom duplex, 78 two bedroom, 2 two bedroom duplex and 14 three bedroom duplex apartments.
According to the proposals there would also be retail space and a restaurant on the ground floor, as well as 173 car parking spaces and a children’s play area.
A report with the original application by Peter Rowlinson Planning said: “The gateway prominence of the site is both in respect to Stockport town centre and the River Tame valley network.
“The planning proposals will provide the necessary financial viability to create an impressive grand residential and commercial premises.”
Potential owners would retain the rights to these plans.
Originally built for T& J Leigh cotton and wool spinning, by 1914, it is understood that the mill boasted 120,000 spindles.
However, more than 100 years later almost half the giant mill is unused through lack of demand or because its condition is unusable.
The mill itself is partly vacant with industrial, leisure and retail uses on the first four floors and currently has an income of £140,000.
If the site does not sell, William George Homes will continue with the development itself.
Richard Adamson, Partner and Auctioneer said: “This is a rare opportunity to purchase a unique and iconic Grade II listed former cotton mill that now has planning consent granted to provide a total of 213 flats together with approximately 2,500 (26,910 sq ft) of commercial space.
“This is likely to be an exciting new chapter for Meadow Mill and a great opportunity too for a developer to breathe a new lease of life into housing and employment for the local area.”
Meadow Mill is available to buy prior to auction but if no purchase is agreed it will go to auction on October 26, at The Cumberland