17 April 2007

Brunner Mond has welcomed the decision to grant outline planning permission for the Winnington Urban Village.

The revised plans to transform the 140-hectare former industrial site into a landmark example of urban regeneration were approved at a meeting of Vale Royal Borough Council’s planning committee on Tuesday (April 17).

The first demolitions to clear the site ahead of redevelopment will begin in the next few weeks with the removal of the former ash plant building on the main Wallerscote site.

Mark Chitty, Brunner Mond’s Director of Corporate Affairs, said: “We are truly delighted that the Council has paved the way for the Urban Village development to go ahead.

“The proposals are in line with Government policy, make good use of brownfield land, and are very complementary to the Northwich Vision.

“This is great news, not only for the future of Brunner Mond, but also for Northwich as the town will benefit from a raised profile, an improved local economy, new homes and community facilities and new jobs.”

The original Urban Village plans were approved in 2003 but were ‘called in’ by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott who ruled that they were ‘premature’ as the Local Plan for the borough was then still being finalised.

The Urban Village will consist of up to 1,200 new homes ranging from one-bedroom apartments to six-bedroom family homes, a community centre, a new primary school, new and diverted bus services, cycle routes, and public open space. A number of improvements to the highways will also be made in the surrounding area.

The project is now in the hands of The Winnington Urban Village Consortium, a combination of developers that submitted the revised application – Taylor Woodrow, Morris Homes and Barratt Homes.

For further information contact Mark Chitty at Brunner Mond on 01610 724000 or Linda Isted/Alison Hardy at Staniforth\ on 0161 919 8495

Brunner Mond is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of soda ash and associated alkaline products. The company has manufacturing plants in Northwich, Cheshire, where it has its headquarters; in Delfzijl, The Netherlands and at Lake Magadi in Kenya. The Company also operates a transportation terminal at Durban, South Africa. The Company is wholly owned by Tata Chemicals Limited, part of the Tata Group of India.

Brunner Mond’s principal product is soda ash, of which it is one of Europe’s largest producers, and the UK’s sole manufacturer. The combined Brunner Mond/Tata Chemicals Group is the third largest producer of soda ash in the world.

Brunner Mond is also one of the world’s leading producers of refined sodium bicarbonate and Europe’s second largest producer of calcium chloride liquor.

Plans for the Urban Village centre around the redevelopment and re-use of 140 hectares (56.4 acres) of predominantly brownfield, redundant, derelict and underused former industrial land at Wallerscote.

The site is a prominent gateway to Northwich.

Plans for the urban Village have been in existence since 1999.

The approval of the Urban Village will provide vital investment funds to sustain Brunner Mond’s business and thereby secure some 2,500 jobs in Northwich and the surrounding area (Brunner Mond directly employs some 450 people and indirectly supports a further 2,000 jobs in the regional supplier and support services industries).
 
The Winnington Urban Village Consortium was formed in November 2002 and consists of developers Taylor Woodrow, Morris Homes and Barratt Homes.