Well, here we are again with Culcheth CPS Shopping Centre, where the phrase 'highly controversial' is doing a lot of heavy lifting and still somehow feels understated.
Plans to convert parts of the first and second floors of the Common Lane centre into 14 residential flats have now been approved by Warrington Borough Council. This comes after a long, bruising planning saga involving objections, withdrawals, refusals, resubmissions and enough paperwork to insulate the building better than its proposed acoustic walls.
The centre, owned by Shivat Haminim Capital Ltd since 2021, has already been at the heart of local anger. Last January, first-floor tenants were handed formal notices terminating their licences, with some traders having been based there for decades. Many residents felt those businesses were not just evicted, but rather shoved out of village life with all the delicacy of a trolley with a wonky wheel.
The owners cited fire safety concerns, pointing to a report saying critical works were needed within weeks to deal with life-threatening hazards. That is obviously serious and cannot be brushed aside. But the row deepened when it was later reported that the fire service believed the works could have been completed without evicting tenants. That little detail has understandably stuck in local throats.
The first version of the residential plan was withdrawn last summer after around 150 letters of objection. Then it came back in November, attracted another wave of opposition, and was refused by Warrington Borough Council in January. Planning officers said some flats would be significantly affected by nearby noise, and the mitigation measures were not good enough.
After that brief pause, the proposal returned in February as a prior approval application, seeking to change part of the first and second floors from office use to residential. Despite 116 objections from residents, plus objections from three ward councillors, Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council and Croft Parish Council, the council has now granted approval, subject to conditions.
The official documents describe the CPS Centre as a shopping centre across the ground, first and partial second floors, with parking and servicing space around it. The ground floor includes Sainsbury's, seven retail units and an office used by a solicitor. The first-floor retail units are vacant, and the partial second floor is also vacant.
The approved scheme will create 14 flats over parts of the first and second floors. The council says all proposed units meet national space standards, and that the latest application addressed reasons for refusing the previous one. On paper, then, the boxes have been ticked. In real life, many in Culcheth are staring at the same boxes and wondering who exactly asked for this.
Residents objected on several fronts: lack of housing need, concerns about living conditions, loss of retail space and jobs, pressure on local services, harm to the village character and fears this could set a precedent for more development. These are not hysterical complaints from people allergic to change. They are practical worries from a village that knows the difference between thoughtful improvement and squeezing flats into any available gap.
The biggest red flag is the noise issue. Culcheth and Glazebury Residents Association said it was disappointed by the decision, noting that the approval comes with very heavy conditions. It said those conditions exist because residents spoke up, and because the noise environment is clearly unsuitable without major engineering.
And frankly, they have a point. If a home needs sealed windows, specialist ventilation and acoustic walls just to make it liveable, that does not exactly scream cosy village living. It sounds more like trying to turn a filing cabinet into a cottage by adding curtains.
That said, vacant upper floors are not a great look either. Nobody benefits from dead space sitting above shops, gathering dust while the village centre tries to stay useful and lively. More homes in the right place can help local shops, bring footfall and make better use of existing buildings. The problem is whether this is the right place, in the right way, after the right process. Many locals clearly think the answer is no.
So the scheme is approved, but not warmly embraced. Warrington Borough Council may have signed off the planning side, yet the mood around Culcheth is still sceptical, frustrated and distinctly unconvinced. The CPS Shopping Centre has always been a practical village hub, not just a collection of units, and people are understandably protective of what happens to it next.