The iconic former gasometer site in High Park in Southport will soon become home to 14 new industrial units.
The new development promises to bring “lean modern light-industrial buildings, capable of housing small to medium sized local businesses; as well as bringing employment to the area.
“Hopefully, they can become an important catalyst for the regeneration of the local area.”
The scheme will be built at 2 – 6 Crowland Close And 124 Russell Road in High Park in Southport after planning permission was granted by Sefton Council.
It will include three linear buildings containing 14 new light industrial units.
In a report to Sefton Council McCamley Architects, on behalf of applicant Nissim Hassan, said: “These will target small to medium scale businesses and hopefully attract more local businesses to the area. These new buildings will provide new employment.
“There is supposed to be a strong demand in the area for units of this size.
The iconic former gasometer site in High Park in Southport will soon become home to 14 new industrial units. Image by McCamley Architects, on behalf of applicant Nissim Hassan
“We have looked to create an efficient layout, which should be easy to access and manoeuvre around.
“The site is currently clear and ready for development.
“The proposals will create modern, clean-lined group of buildings that will hopefully help to regenerate the area; on a site that was formerly run-down and a den for anti-social behaviour. •
“We have had a pre-app with the council and have looked to incorporate their comments into the design.
“There are three units types; 1,250 sqft: 3 no. 1,500 sqft: 7 no. 2,000 sqft: 4 no.
“Within the area the demand is for smaller unit sizes, which suit small to medium sized businesses. So we were asked to look at this site and find an efficient solution, with unit sizes ranging from 1,250 to 2,000sqft.
“The intention was to create a simple arrangement of buildings that made access onto the site and to the units simple and easy.
The iconic former gasometer site in High Park in Southport will soon become home to 14 new industrial units. Image by McCamley Architects, on behalf of applicant Nissim Hassan
“Due to the ‘L’ shaped configuration of the site, we looked to create three parallel building elements. This allowed for roads running around them and access units directly. Vehicles can then access the site from three points. The arrangement of the blocks will mean that the site will appear nicely ordered and arranged; and remove a lot of the ugly fencing which is prevalent on the site and its context.
“The proposal was for 15 units totalling a GIA of 23,890 sqft, and 46 car parking spaces.
“As there are three simple parallel lines of buildings, we feel that this will help to visually clean up the site and appear very organised. The aspiration would also be that the elevations are simply and elegantly designed, using good quality, durable materials.
“This arrangement of buildings also allows for flexibility. One tenant may want to expand and could potentially expand into a neighbouring unit. Or a tenant may demand a different sized unit; and the owner could simply reposition the internal dividing wall to suit.
“Furthermore, the arrangement of the blocks on the site also reduces the amount of fencing required, which can be visually ugly, add clutter and degrade the local area. Similar to what the site looked like previously.
A last look at the gasometer at High park in Southport visible from most of the surrounding area. Photo by Alan Marsh
“The site is located in a light industrial Area on Crowland Close, in Southport.
“The site was formerly a gas works site as the two historical OS maps opposite show. It has therefore been an industrial site for a long part of its history.
“Industrial buildings surround the site. A lot of the sites in the area look fairly run down, with a lot of their outdoor space filled with scrap and debris. Buildings are loosely spaced on their individual plots. There isn’t much of a feeling of order in the locality. The area is also visually littered with high metal fencing, which doesn’t help to create a welcoming local environment.
“The site is now cleared of buildings, but formerly had rusty old Nissan huts on the site. It was formerly a place where anti-social behaviour occurred, including drug dealing and graffiti.
“We feel that this scheme would be very beneficial for the local area. Provide clean modern light-industrial buildings, capable of housing small to medium sized local businesses; as well as bringing employment to the area. Hopefully, they can become an important catalyst for the regeneration of the local area.”
The former gasometer in High park in Southport. Photo by Gareth Jones
Speaking about the people behind the scheme, the application said: “Nissim Hassan is a senior director of the Weis Group, a Manchester based property investment group, which holds a substantial nationwide portfolio of property assets. A number of which are currently being brought forward for redevelopment, predominantly for residential use
“In 2022, the group received planning permission for 607 apartments in Southampton city centre, on a former Debenhams site. Also, in 2022 the group received Reserved Matters planning approval for 145 houses in Horwich, Bolton. In 2021 the group received planning permission for Park Place Apartments in Manchester city centre. The scheme consists of two 56 storey residential towers, containing 1,037 apartments.
“The group also has a large number of development projects in the pipeline to bring forward to planning shortly, including several light industrial sites.”
In their report, Sefton Council’s Planning department said: “The application site is within an area designated as an Existing Employment Area.
“It is unlikely that the operation of the site, by itself, would give rise to significant harm to the amenity of current or future occupiers of these properties.
“So as to ensure this, however, it could be reasonable to limit opening and delivery hours to those as given within the application form: 6am-9pm Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. This could be secured as a condition attached to any approval.
The applicant was asked to provide a maximum height so as to fully assess this proposal. The applicant stated by email on 5th July 2024 that the maximum height, which could be controlled by a condition attached to any approval, is 8m. This is considered to be an acceptable upper limit for the development and would be in keeping with the scale of industrial and commercial units seen within the area, while also allowing for greater flexibility within each of the units by providing the possibility for mezzanine levels to be introduced thereby improving the offer to future occupiers.”
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