HERE is a look at five planning stories we have reported on in August.
These include applications that have been submitted, or decided on in St Helens.
Haydock URC conversion
Plans to convert a former church building into supported living apartments have been drawn up.
Proposals for the change of use of the vacant Christ Church Haydock United Reform Church, on West End Road, have been sent to council planners.
The application seeks permission to create 11 self-contained one-bedroom apartments, with some external alterations to the building and grounds.
The church was founded in 1891 as Haydock Congregational Church and has served the community for more than a century.
This adds that in 2020, the church, "faced with escalating maintenance costs" decided to sell the main church building and convert its Sunday School hall into the new main church building.
Meanwhile, a separate planning application was submitted to extend the Sunday School Hall to enable the church to continue its activities/
Council planners are expected to decide on the application for the supported living apartments by October 16.
Read the full story here.
Gym at industrial estate unit
Plans have been drawn up seeking permission to convert a unit into a gym.
Proposals for a change of use of a former diagnostics lab into a gym at Lea Green Business Park, on Eurolink, Sutton Manor, have been submitted to the council.
The plans for the vacant Unit 12 at the site have been sent in by applicant Hannah Murphy, of Full Send Fitness.
An application form in the plans states there would be two part-time employees at the gym.
Plans are asking for permission for opening hours of 6am to 8pm from Mondays to Fridays; 7am to noon on Saturdays, and 8am to 1pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
It adds that "some gym equipment" will be taken in, described as a "four-bay squat rack which will be attached to the wall/floor".
A deadline has been set for council planners to make a decision on the application by September 26.
Read the story here.
Former HMRC office
A new application has been drawn up seeking permission to convert a prominent vacant office building in the town into apartments.
Previous proposals to turn the former HMRC office on College Street into 66 residential apartments had been approved by the council back in 2019.
However, the permission for this expired as the project was hit by delays and the building has remained empty since the former Tax Credits office at the Crown Buildings was closed in August 2018.
A new application has now been drawn up seeking prior approval for a change of use of the building to a slightly reduced number of 63 apartments.
Plans said: “The number of units has been reduced to 63 and many of these have been downgraded to one bedroom, one person units in order to satisfy the nationally described space standard (NDSS)”, adding “the original scheme was moderately substandard in this regard”.
The proposals, submitted by applicants H J Collection 2, are on a standard consultation to the public until Monday, September 2.
A decision on the application is expected to be made by September 25.
Read the full story here.
Pilkington Welfare building
New proposals have been put forward for the demolition of a day centre and to replace it with an upgraded facility.
Proposals for the creation of a replacement building at the Pilkington Welfare building, at Ruskin Drive, Dentons Green, have been sent to council planners.
The site, currently not in use, is owned by the Pilkington Family Trust, a registered charity that was originally founded to support Pilkington employees in retirement.
It now seeks to benefit the wider community and support people who are in need because of health, disability, and loneliness.
Plans state that previously "the building was used for a wide variety of activities such as snooker, an arts club and as a meeting and practice location for the Pilkington Choir" and had "numerous visitors" throughout the day.
They add the building contains asbestos "and as such is no longer fit for purpose" stating "the demolition of the current building is a more feasible and safer option rather than carrying out extensive refurbishment works".
Plans add the wellbeing centre "would support residents of the care home and also their carers to provide a meeting point outside of the care home".
A deadline for council planners to rule on the proposals has been set for September 20.
Read the full story here.
Car repair and sales centre
PLANS for a car sales and repair centre and two light industrial units have been granted permission.
Proposals were sent to the council last year for land to the south of Polar Ford at Scorecross and Sullivans Way in Peasley Cross.
A design and access statement, prepared by planning agents Revival Architecture on behalf of applicants Prescot Self Drive, says the "proposal is for the construction of a new build car sales, rental and repair centre and two. Light Industrial units".
It adds the "main building contains a two-storey office building with customer areas to the ground floor and staff office space to the first floor".
Plans added: "The scheme still looks to provide an attractive commercial proposal that will sit well in the surrounding context.
"The spacious thought-out design provides highly functional buildings improving the efficiency of the end users.
"The proposal represents a viable opportunity to develop a vacant site for a suitable use".
Recommending approval of the application, planning officer Stephen Gill said in a report: "The development would deliver economic growth and job expansion on a previously developed site, and therefore, the principle of development is acceptable.”
Permission for the development was granted.
Read the full story here.
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