Council give mill site houses the green light

Durban Mill (on the left) with Heron Mill on the right

THE former Durban Mill site in Hollinwood will be transformed into a new residential development.

Councillors unanimously approved the scheme for 80 rented houses, of which 64 will be three-bedroom houses, eight two-bedroom houses and eight four-bedroom houses.

All the properties will have enclosed gardens and parking provision.

In October, 2015, the 110-year-old, 130ft-high Durban Mill chimney, in Mafeking Street, was razed to the ground.

Soon after that the mill itself was demolished and workers have been preparing the site for the construction of the homes. The old building was used as a cotton mill in 1905 by Durban Mill Co and taken over by Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1957 but production ceased in 1962 before Littlewoods occupied it in 1967 as a mail-order warehouse.

It was most recently occupied by general merchandise supplier, Findel, which vacated the premises around 2009.

Provision

The development is not considered as economically viable so the developers ­- Countryside Properties UK Ltd and Grasscroft Homes & Properties Ltd ­- will not be required to give a section 106 payment for provision of public space.

Cllr John McCann asked why the area ­- close to the motorways ­- was not considered economically viable. But Steve Hughes, representing the developers, said: "It's a challenging site.

"We do need to make a return, we're not making a massive return."

The majority of locals welcomed the demolition of the mill ­- but some were concerned what impact 80 new homes will have on traffic, parking and local schools.

Two letters of objection were sent to the council, on the assumption that there would be a one-way system onto the site, leading to concerns about traffic.

However, planning officers said this was a misunderstanding and that the roads would remain two-way systems.