Ambitious plans for 1100 new homes in Warrington move forward

Omega Warrington Ltd (OWL), a joint venture between property firms Miller Developments and KUC Properties Ltd, has secured outline consent for the next stage of its plan to create swathes of new homes and mixed-use space in Warrington.

Submitted in September last year, plans for the Omega South development encompass 1,100 homes along with a pub, care home, shops, restaurants and cafes.

The site will also include a new primary school, Barrow Hall, which is due to open in September.

Following outline consent, the proposals will now proceed to the Department for Communities and Local Government before full permission is given. If approved, the residential and mixed-use elements of the scheme will likely have a phased delivery over a 10-year period.

Andrew Sutherland, the joint managing director of Edinburgh-headquartered Miller Developments, said: “This is a major milestone for Omega and Warrington.

“We hope that this will soon mean that we are able to bring forward a whole range of much needed, quality new housing, including affordable starter homes, for the area.”

He continued: “Both new and existing residents will also benefit from new shops, leisure opportunities and community facilities which, we’ve heard from local residents, the area really needs.

“All of these different uses will complement the job opportunities within the growing business community already thriving on Omega; it will create the truly mixed community which OWL and its partners have been working hard to bring forward as part of a successful masterplan for Omega.”

The OWL joint venture is backed by the Homes and Communities Agency and has support from Warrington Borough Council and the Cheshire & Warrington LEP.

The Homes and Communities Agency’s North West director, Deborah McLaughlin, commented: “The government has ambitious plans to increase housing supply and home ownership.

“So it’s great news that this application on HCA land for over 1,000 new homes at Omega has been given the green light by Warrington.”

Deborah added: “It is also significant because 20% of those homes will be starter homes for young people trying to get on the housing ladder, and will be sold with a discount of up to 20%.”

The committee’s decision to give OWL outline permission for the next stage comes after a public consultation on the plans held in May and June last year.

The leader of Warrington Borough Council, Cllr Terry O’Neill, explained that OWL has created 5,000 jobs on the once-empty site in just three years, hailing Omega South as “a flagship for enterprise” in the region.

He said: “This support for homes, shops, restaurants and hotel will further add to the offer and attractiveness of the site and so enhance even further Warrington’s potential.”