\n The plans relate to the proposed transformation of the currently derelict site, being termed \u2018Time Square phase two\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n A huge apartment complex is planned along Mersey Street, a main route through Warrington town centre, on the site of the former DW Gym building.\n<\/p>\n
\n Plans have been submitted to demolish the business premises, with a developer acquiring the land to build 240 affordable one and two-bedroom apartments.\n<\/p>\n
\n Owned by Warrington Borough Council, the site is located to the south east of the Time Square off Academy Way, and it was selected as a \u2018strategic location where affordable homes for rent will be well served by public transport, pedestrian routes, and a vibrant town centre\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n As well as the demolition plans, an environmental impact assessment screening opinion application was submitted to the council.\n<\/p>\n
\n This is ahead of a full planning application, with the screening opinion setting out where there is the potential for significant environmental effects to occur and how they will be addressed.\n<\/p>\n
\n Now, the council has ruled that an environmental impact assessment is not required, allowing the proposal for \u2018affordable, low-carbon, and low-energy homes\u2019 for rent to progress to the next stage.\n<\/p>\n
\n It is proposed that the closed DW Gym building be demolished\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe project seeks to help to boost the local economy through job creation and new skills to support green innovation,\u201d said a spokesman for Habiko, a venture housing partnership that is progressing the development.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe proposed scheme will revitalise this sustainable brownfield site and create an opportunity to connect the development to Time Square and the wider pedestrian network around the town centre.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAcademy Way will be a car-free development by virtue of the site\u2019s sustainable town centre location, and it will feature a central landscaped courtyard for future residents to enjoy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n In reaching a decision, the council said: \u201cAn assessment has been made as to whether the development would have significant effects.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis includes the measures proposed by the applicant to avoid or prevent impacts that might otherwise have significant adverse effects on the environment.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe opportunity to use appropriate planning conditions to cover these matters, should planning permission be granted, has also been considered.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cGiven the assessment, it is considered that an application for the proposed development is not required to be accompanied by an environmental statement.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe impacts associated with it are not likely to be of a scale or nature to constitute environmental impact assessment development.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The plans relate to the proposed transformation of the currently derelict site, being termed \u2018Time Square phase two\u2019.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,111,139,69,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-201653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}