57-acre Huyton masterplan secures go-ahead

Liverpool-headquartered property developer Ion’s masterplan for regenerating a 57-acre site in Huyton, which features proposals for an employment park and around 160 homes, has been given the go-ahead.Knowsley Council’s planning committee has approved the Earlsfield Park Masterplan to transform a plot close to Junction 2 of the M57. The masterplan features around 160 new homes and a minimum of 40 acres of employment land.The existing Lord Derby playing fields and Oak Plantation on the site would also be protected and enhanced as part of the scheme.The masterplan includes a ‘Hybrid Employment Park’ where manufacturing, R&D and sub-regional logistics business space will sit alongside more traditional office and workshop spaces. It also proposes leisure and retail uses including a petrol station, a drive-thru restaurant, a pub/restaurant, a 40- to 60-bed hotel, pedestrian and cyclist access, and new crossing points on Knowsley Lane.Ion is expected to submit a planning application for the first phase of the development in the early autumn of 2017.