Vandal-hit derelict mill to be turned into 150 new homes
A DERELICT mill which has become a hotspot for anti-social behaviour is to be turned into 150 flats.
Elisabeth Mill in Reddish has become a magnet for vandals, with teenagers smashing windows and throwing bricks and concrete slabs on to the street.
The building was at the centre of anti-social behaviour last summer, with up to a dozen incidents a week.
The latest incident earlier this month saw a gang on bikes squirt petrol on to the road in front of cars and set it alight.
De Trafford Estates Group is now to convert the mill into 150 apartments as part of the Elisabeth Gardens project.
The Grade- II listed building was commissioned by Sir William Henry Houldsworth in 1874.
It has been empty for more than a decade. Schemes in other Stockport mills, legacies of the town’s industrial past, have seen hundreds of new homes built.
The project will also complement the Houldsworth Village regeneration scheme, which includes the Broadstone Mill Shopping Outlet.
The adjacent Friedland Building, built in the 1980s, will also be transformed into 50 homes and a marketing building.
Reddish MP Andrew Gwynne supported the application, which was finally approved by Stockport council’s planning committee after being deferred in April.
In a letter to councillors, Mr Gwynne said: “The development would enhance the conservation area and restore an iconic building. The buildings are the source of a considerable amount of anti-social behaviour and there is a danger that someone could be seriously injured. I am keen the scheme is started as soon as possible.”
Councillors raised concerns about a lack of affordable homes and ‘Section 106’ contributions from developers.
A deal was eventually struck with planning officers which will see De Trafford Estates Group pay nearly £ 100,000 for nearby traffic calming measures.
Coun Chris Murphy said: “This can only be a good thing for that area. The sooner they start on this, the better.”