THE remnants of a Greenfield mill will be brought back into use if proposals submitted to Oldham Council are approved.
The future of Knoll Mill on Wellington Road has been subject to speculation for years with the Victorian building becoming an increasing blot on the landscape.
It has been regularly vandalised and become a magnet for anti-social behaviour. The rest of the mill was demolished to make way for Tesco supermarket which opened in 2010.
Now plans have been revealed to convert the former mill into 38 apartments helped by the erection of two new floors and lift tower. The flats will be a mix of one, two and three bed apartments.
There will be a partial demolition of the existing building and basement parking for one vehicle per apartment plus the creation of 44 cycle spaces.
Steven Abbott Associates LLP have submitted the application on behalf of Saddleworth Prestige Homes Ltd whose officers registered at Companies House are listed as Gordon Bruce and Michael Carney.
In documents submitted in favour of the plans it is said the building is “in very poor condition and at risk of losing its heritage significance.
“The Heritage Assessment confirms that the building is significant in the local context via its association with the Saddleworth textile industry.
“The proposals for Knoll Mill clearly tick all the boxes required to achieve sustainable development.
“It is a site which is well served by public transport and there are local amenities in proximity which will benefit future residents.
“Furthermore, the proposals will ensure that a building which is currently in very poor condition and an eyesore will be given a purpose once again, something that will secure its future and prevent it from falling into an even greater state of disrepair.”
A structural survey states: “The proposals for the conversion of the existing building seek to utilise the stone external walls of the original building as a heritage asset to maintain a sense of continuity for the scheme.
“To enable this it is proposed to construct a new internal steel frame to which the external existing stonework will be fixed and then modified.”
• To see all plans and to submit comments visit https://tinyurl.com/49cnszvz
No need to add two more floors. Just have a few less apartments. Just use the building as it is without a money grab for an extra 2 floors worth of apartments
Agree with Paul. That amount of apartments, coupled with the massive amount of apartments and homes being developed by Wigget in Greenfield, is going to create a massive burden on already oversubscribed local amenities and road traffic. Absolute money grab with little concern over community impact.