Radcliffe: New plans for 400 homes at East Lancashire Paper Mill site

Initial plans for the development at the former site of the East Lancashire Paper Mill (ELPM) in Radcliffe - which was demolished in 2005 after the closure of the mill in 2001 - were approved in 2018.

The 22.72 hectare site, which has been vacant for around two decades, is jointly owned by Homes England which owns two thirds of the land, and Bury Council which owns the remainder.

New proposals have now been lodged for the site, with the plans including a mixture of two, three and four-bedroom houses as well as two-bedroom apartments.

The land, which sits between Croft Lane and Cross Lane, was affected by the 2015 Boxing Day floods following unprecedented rainfall on Bury and Radcliffe.

The site of the new development on the former East Lancashire Paper Mill site, Radcliffe (Image: Bury Council)READ MORE: New bar opening in Ramsbottom with 'community at its heart'

The new planning application, submitted on behalf of developer Morris Homes, states: “The vision for development at Radcliffe is the creation of a distinctive, new place, which embodies the best traditions and character of the local area and at the same time, meets the challenges of an up-to-date, sustainable and connected community.

“The development will be of a scale and density which is comfortable and well-related to existing residential areas nearby.

“This will be a welcoming and comfortable place to live. The development will benefit from excellent connectivity.

"This will include proximity to public facilities such as sports pitches, access to local tram networks and connections to existing and proposed pedestrian and cycle routes.

"The development will be of a scale and density which is comfortable and well-related to existing residential areas nearby.”

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The applicant says steps will be taken to mitigate the risk of flooding on the land, which sits close to the River Irwell.

The application identifies flooding as one of the site’s "major constraints".

It said: “Large areas of the site are at risk of flooding, following detailed reports into the potential to overcome flood risk in the area a solution has been proposed [to] raise the levels of certain parts of the site to, in effect, take elements out the site of the area of high flood risk.

“The technical solution to the flood risk constraints has to a great extent dictated which areas of the site can be developed for housing.”

The application also involves the relocation of East Lancs Paper Mill Cricket Club at the site.

The plans state: "The clubhouse design follows consultation with the cricket club and Morris have employed the services of Club Design who are an English Cricket Board accredited designer and consultant.

"Following pre-application discussions with the council, the scale of the proposed building balances the club’s aspirations to accommodate mixed teams and provide adequate facilities with the policy requirement to control the impact of development within the green belt.

"The clubhouse has been sited on the western boundary of the pitch to achieve separate from the heritage asset of Radcliffe Tower to the north while a footpath link is provided to the northern boundary."

Work is also already underway to complete a £4.5m development for 27 affordable homes on the same site.