Applicant vows to create employment opportunities at long-vacant building
Plans to turn a vacant former retail warehouse into a self-storage facility have been submitted.
An application proposing the change of use of the former Bargain Buys site, off Lowe Street in St Helens, to form a self-storage facility and ancillary offices has been put forward.
The plans also include a new front and side extensions, a 2.2m high boundary fence, external refuse store and four electric vehicle charging points.
The site comprises a detached retail warehouse and associated car park.
A planning statement has been prepared on behalf of Storage Giant Ltd, in support of the full planning application for the site.
“This application will inaugurate Storage Giant’s presence in the North West and provide employment opportunities for the local community,” it says.
“The warehouse was most recently occupied by Bargain Buys as a discount retail unit prior to its closure in June 2018 (due to parent company Poundworld falling into administration).
“The site has remained vacant ever since and now represents a visually untidy feature within the streetscene due to lack of maintenance on the building elevations, debris within the car park and unmaintained scrub at the corners of the site.
“Storage Giant are seeking to secure the change of use of the site to accommodate a self-storage facility. The proposed development requires the facility to be upgraded, with Storage Giant corporate branding applied both internally and externally.
“The existing unit comprises 930 sq m of internal ground floorspace, whilst the proposal intends to increase this to 1630 sq m by the addition of two distinct extensions. These will enhance the existing rectangular shape of the warehouse into a more dynamic tridecagonal form.”
The planning statement also highlights that the proposed development will enable the regeneration of a long-term vacant site for the “benefit of the local community”.
It adds: “The external appearance of the dilapidated site will be significantly enhanced to reflect Storage Giant’s captivating branding, including the recladding of all elevations with high quality external materials.”
