Plans lodged to restore Victorian glass bottle making shop

Plans have officially been submitted to restore and repurpose a derelict Victorian era glass bottle making shop in St Helens into a mixed-use space which will secure the future of the grade II-listed site and benefit the local community.Cannington Shaw Preservation Trust CIC wants to breathe new life into the Cannington Shaw Bottle Shop which opened in 1886 and, at its height, was part of the largest bottle maker in the world.All that remains at the “severely dilapidated” site, which closed in the 1980s and is on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register, is the no.7 bottle shop which is a rare example of the Siemens regenerative tank furnace.Under the plans, the site will be revamped into a mixed-use community with education and events space, alongside pedestrian access and a new terrace and viewing tower.A planning statement submitted with the plans said that the scheme presents a “unique opportunity” to bring an “important local landmark back into sustainable use to the benefit of the local community”.A design and access statement added that it will “advance the education of the public in the historical, architectural and industrial significance of the building and its impact on the fortunes of our town”.”A key component of the project is to use the process of stabilisation, conservation, and repair to train local people in traditional construction techniques”, it said.The preservation trust is a community group which was set up with the intention of breathing new life into the bottle shop with the assistance of St Helen’s Borough Council and Historic England.Phase one of the project is part of the first tranche to receive funding as part of the £25m awarded for the St Helens Town Deal.The former glassworks is located adjacent to the A58 Linkway road and close to the stadium for St Helens R.F.C, with the newly opened £54m Glass Futures building also nearby.