'Significant interest' in Heath Park scheme which will enhance facilities for the local community

Runcorn: April 9th, 2025: Talks are ongoing with a number of major investors and developers to secure the investment required to deliver the Heath Park scheme to regenerate The Heath Business and Technical Park site.

Tim Metson, the coordinator of investment negotiations for SOG Ltd, the owner of the business park, said today that there is ‘significant interest’ in the Heath Park vision.
He commented: “We have just signed another Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with a major developer which is the latest of a number of NDAs currently in place with leading organisations, international investors and property developers, who have expressed interest in the Heath Park scheme. These organisations are currently carrying out their due diligence and there continues to be significant interest in SOG’s plans to reinvigorate and rejuvenate its site at The Heath.”

While The Heath Business and Technical Park in Runcorn, Cheshire, is first and foremost a key business centre in the North-West, the location has also become a crucial community asset over recent years with its facilities attracting a growing following from residents living near to the site.
As SOG continue to engage with global investors who are key to enabling the Heath Park vision to become a reality, enhanced facilities for the local community remain a vital element of the ground-breaking scheme.

John Lewis MBE, the owner of SOG and the inspiration behind Heath Park, says: “This is not a conventional real estate development proposal. Heath Park is modelled on ‘Port Sunlight’, the Victorian village in Merseyside built by industrialist Viscount Leverhulme in the 1800s. Reacting to appalling living conditions at the time, Lord Leverhulme’s inspiring idea created houses and community facilities in a healthy environment for workers of his soap factory.

“Taking our cue from Leverhulme’s Port Sunlight, Heath Park is a much broader consideration of how to adapt a 60-year old regenerated / re-purposed corporate office/science campus into a holistic resilient system for future living, working and playing that can evolve over time whilst retaining the ethos of the key drivers established at the outset. These key drivers, adhered to throughout the development of the scheme, and central to its future governance, were to protect an important employment asset, continue to be of value to the local community, and focus on health, well-being and the environment.

“We are greatly encouraged that our scheme is attracting broad interest from investment organisations and developers who are key to enabling the delivery of our Heath Park vision.”

Terry Rogan, SOG’s architectural and planning advisor, says: “The vision for Heath Park evolved from a global competition, staged by RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects) and sponsored by SOG, which challenged architects, designers, planners and forward thinkers to create a sustainable futuristic environment, powered by renewable energy, where people can live, work and play.”
The competition generated over 50 entries from across the world. The winning entry from Ecoresponsive Environments formed the basis of the Heath Park masterplan which has since won two national urban regeneration awards in a scheme that has been hailed as a ‘Beacon Project’ for Liverpool City Region by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.

Heath Park has also been promoted to the global investment community by the UK Government through the Global Investment Atlas. Heath Park was one of 35 ethical projects promoted by the UK Government and one of only two projects from the North-West and Wales in the Atlas.

Terry Rogan adds: “Today The Heath Business and Technical Park opens its facilities to the local community including its gym and leisure centre and function rooms. The Heath hosts tea dances and dedicated events for the over-50s which help to combat loneliness and isolation, and facilities are used by schools and scouts groups. There are regular entertainment evenings, five-a-side football and even police activities for training and speed awareness courses.
“The Heath is now recognised as a very important community asset, and this is reflected in our proposals for Heath Park where community facilities will be enhanced, and health and well-being are a core focus of the scheme.”
In addition to retaining and expanding the existing business use, Heath Park includes senior living and extra care units integrated into the housing element of the plan and a state-of-the-art vertical farm to grow food.
Facilities for the community include:
• 30 bed hotel
• Restaurant
• Pub
• Convenience store and bike shop
• Pharmacy and Surgery
• Hairdresser and post office
• Conference Centre
• Fitness Suite
• Indoor Swimming Pool
• Gaming centre
• Meeting and Community Spaces
For further information on the scheme go to: https://heathpark-uk.com

Media Contact:
Paul Smith: paul@paulsmithassociates.co.uk

PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
10th April 2025