A RETROSPECTIVE planning application has been submitted for a storage yard that did not receive official consent.

In May, 'Drive Up Self Store' opened their latest storage site on former industrial land in Rainford.

The business, which also has units in Wigan and Chorley, offers customers safe and secure storage space but did not receive official planning permission from St Helens Council.

Following this, a retrospective planning application for 97 storage containers at Lords Fold was submitted through the official channels on Tuesday, July 9.

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In 2008, an application was approved for the construction of industrial buildings on Lords Fold, with one unit being built for 'Bobby's Foods' and the other unit to be offered for sale within an industrial or storage capacity.

After purchasing the Lords Fold land in December 2023, Drive Up Self Store said that they believed the facility "fell within the uses permitted under an extant permission", as the permitted unit next to Bobby's Foods unit was never completed.

However, St Helens Council notified the applicant in February that a new planning application would need to be submitted as the storage units "would not be in accordance with the plans [...] which permitted an industrial building and associated servicing area rather than open storage".

A retrospective application has therefore been submitted to seek approval for the development that has already been carried out. However, this does not guarantee that permission will be granted and the applicant could be liable to remove the unauthorised development if refused.


The application, which seeks permission for 97 steel containers and company branded signage, has received a handful of objections and complaints on social media since it was officially lodged online.

Residents have raised concerns about the impact of increased traffic and noise around the site, particularly as a residential estate has recently been constructed along Lords Fold.

Others have raised concerns about the environmental impact to the nearby Randle Brook.

The applicants say that the development represents a "significant investment to deliver modern, high quality storage units" and "supports the growth of a local business that supports other local businesses and residents".

The applicants also state that the development is "less intensive" than the industrial usage that was previously permitted in 2008, and "is in line with relevant national and local [planning] policy".