The proposed site for the new store has been vacant since 2022
The company behind Home Bargains has announced plans to transform the former site of a Merseyside coal mine. Davos Property Developments (DPD), a subsidiary of Liverpool-based T.J. Morris Limited, is seeking planning permission for a large retail unit on the western side of Wilson Road, Huyton.
The Liverpool ECHO can confirm the proposed retail unit will be a Home Bargains store, with three new warehouse spaces also planned. The site was most recently occupied by Sovereign Distillery, but has been vacant since 2022.
An application, submitted by DPD in November 2023, includes plans for the partial demolition, reconfiguration and refurbishment of the existing employment building to create three warehouse buildings with ancillary office space.
A report compiled by Knowsley Council’s planning team show DPD’s detailed proposals for the site and the ‘significant benefits’ arising from the development.
Among these are forecasts for the local labour market with an estimated 389 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, including 119 full time and part time jobs in the retail store.
The report notes the plans will support growth within the wider economy: “New employees would generate significant spending in the local area.
“Local labour, skills and training opportunities [would be provided] through the construction and operational phase and [have] economic benefits, including job creation, in an area with high unemployment rates among working residents and a lower economic activity rate.”
Perhaps unusually for developments on Merseyside, the planning application for Wilson Road, Huyton includes a ‘Coal Mining Investigations’ section.
According to Knowsley Council’s 19th Century archive, the area around Huyton Quarry included coal mining shafts and was the closest of the south Lancashire coal mines to Liverpool.
The council report notes the presence of coal mining features within the application site, adding: “The Coal Authority records indicate that within, or within 20m of the planning boundary there are seven recorded mine entries (shafts) and that the application site is likely affected by shallow coal mine workings.”
Adding: “The intrusive report confirms that only intact coal seams were encountered and that no further precautionary measures are warranted.
“The Coal Authority agrees with the conclusions of the report and the proposal would therefore be in compliance with paragraph 196 in the National Planning Policy Framework.”
Knowsley Council’s planning committee will meet on Thursday June 26 to examine the planning application for the former Halewood International site at Sovereign Distillery.