'Deserted' mill to be demolished and replaced with shops and flats

A 'deserted' mill in Tameside is to be demolished and replaced with retail space and up to 62 apartments.

On Wednesday (24 February), the borough’s planning committee gave the green light for plans to knock down Britannia Mill in Mossley, which was built in 1851.

Previous outline plans to demolish the Manchester Road mill had been approved in 2016 by the planning committee but had not progressed, pending the agreement of a Section 106 contribution.

The applicant, English Braids Ltd, has now come forward with an agreement which would allow the development to move forward.

According to the original proposals, there would be 22 three-bedroom apartments, 40 two-bedroom flats and a ground floor retail space totalling 750 sqm fronting onto Manchester Road.

A new access would be created on Manchester Road to provide access for customer parking for the shops and for most of the apartments.

And up to 38 apartments may be serviced from Queen Street.

The Section 106 agreement would see a payment of £631 per unit to be spent on environmental improvements in the local area and in particular at the following sites: Roaches, Mossley Park, Egmont Street and the street scene within Mossley.

Britannia Mill in Mossley. Photo: Tameside Council. 

The developer would also contribute £867 for each two-bed flat, and £1,211 for each three-bed apartment which would be spent on projects to create additional school places.

This would include remodelling internal space or upgrading existing infrastructure to increase capacity within the schools in the Mossley ward.

A further £7,000 would be paid to improve pedestrian facilities along eastern side Manchester Road by upgrading dropped kerbs and tactile paving between existing road crossings at Mill Lane and Stamford Road. 

Offices say this would improve pedestrian links with Milton St Johns Primary School, Mossley Rail Station, Livingstone Primary, and other community facilities. 

However there is no requirement for affordable housing to be provided. 

A reserved matters plan will now need to be brought back to the local authority for approval.

Planning officer Caroline Lindsay said: “The proposed development would result in the beneficial reuse of a previously developed land providing much needed housing in an accessible location closed to a wide variety of services and transport links.

“The site will bring positive regeneration benefits and contribution to the housing land supply and the development is still therefore considered to be sustainable development.”

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the application.

Main image:

The apartment building and retail units proposed for Britannia Mill in Mossley. Photo: English Braids Ltd.

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