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Jun 04, 2023

Pilkington's plans for upgrade of Greengate site approved

A PLANNING application submitted by Pilkington ahead of the proposed upgrade

A PLANNING application submitted by Pilkington ahead of the proposed upgrade at its Greengate site as manufacturing works at Watson Street are relocated in 2024 has been approved.

Pilks will move its Watson Street manufacturing operations to its Greengate site in the town.

Pilkington says the move represents "a major investment" in its Greengate glass furnace, which melts the raw materials into glass as part of the manufacturing process.

The Greengate furnace will be upgraded to accommodate its continued production of flat glass, while delivering the additional output required from the relocation of its Watson Street rolled glass manufacturing line.

The Watson Street site will be shut down with all jobs being relocated to Greengate as part of the project.

The work will begin in August 2023, with the line due to be up and running by August 2024.

The Watson Street site will close in 2024 (Image: St Helens Star)

An application has been sent to planners at St Helens Council for a certificate of lawfulness for the proposed creation of an industrial link building to connect two on-site buildings at Greengate Works, on Sherdley Road.

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A spokesperson for Pilks confirmed this is in relation to the proposed upgrade at the Greengate site ahead of the planned closure at Watson Street.

The spokesperson for Pilkington said: "The furnace currently in operation at Greengate will melt the glass for both the float glass line, known as UK5, and the new rolled line.

"A new channel will be built to divert and transport a proportion of the molten glass produced by this furnace into another, currently unused, building nearby, where it will be annealed and cut to produce the rolled glass products previously manufactured at Watson Street."

The yard at Greengate between UK5 and UK6 (Image: ACR GRP Ltd (St Helens Council Planning Portal))

A description of the proposals in the application states it is for the creation "of an 'industrial link building' - roof and two walls connecting to two buildings known as UK5 with UK6, both of which house industrialised glass production equipment.

"This 'envelope structure' is intended to house associated industrial process equipment (LEHR) and in so doing link the industrial facility housed within the building known as UK5 and the industrial facility housed within the building known as UK6.

"The mono-pitch structure will therefore provide an interface with both UK5 and UK6 buildings and offer a fully weather-tight enclosure for the process equipment to be housed within".

Recommending approval, case officer Alex Ball said: "I conclude that the proposed erection of an industrial link building to connect 2no on-site buildings is considered to be permitted development under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended), Schedule 2, Part 7, Class H."

The certificate of lawfulness was granted by St Helens Council planners.

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