Navigation Yard in Northwich sold to private developer

Navigation Yard, on Navigation Road, first went on the market in December 2022 when its previous owners, the Canal and River Trust (C&RT), decided to offload the site to raise capital to 'reinvest in the waterways network'.

The three-acre riverside lot was once home to W. J. Yardwood & Sons, a shipbuilder supplying craft to the Manchester Ship Canal Company, Brunner Mond, and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board.

Several structures on the site are deemed important historical assets, including the grade-II listed Area Office, Navigation House, Clock Tower, and a rare Scotch Derrick crane.

It later became the regional headquarters of C&RT, and last year was said to contain ‘the last buildings of any significance to Northwich’s rich river history’ by heritage group, the River Weaver Navigation Society (RWNS).

On Wednesday, September 25, RWNS  announced Navigation Yard has been sold to a private property developer, Laurence Daw, for an unknown sum.

C&RT's initial guide price on Rightmove was offers in the region of £1.6million. 

Aerial photograph of the extent of the three-acre site just south of Northwich Town Centre (Image: Rightmove) A snap public consultation event to discuss the future of the site has already been arranged for Friday, September 27, 5pm to 7pm, at the Old Workshop in Navigation Road.

RWNS chairman, Jim Mole, described the consultation event as 'all a bit rushed, in our view', adding: "We’re conscious the turn-out now won’t be as good as it could be.”

In November last year, RWNS president, John Tackley, described the potential sale as ‘a tremendous opportunity to turn Northwich into a proper tourist town’.

He added: “Navigation Yard is such an important site for the whole of the county. So many decisions were taken in that building.

The clock tower is one of several grade II listed buildings on the site (Image: Rightmove) “It created the salt industry, which in turn, created the port of Liverpool.”

Friday's consultation event is being hosted by national housing charity, Community Accommodation Group (CAG), which uses 'social impact funding' to build homes for 'vulnerable people'.

On its website, CAG described itself as ‘a disruptive agent for change, helping local councils and homeless support charities by providing homes for life and arranging care and support unless and until it is no longer needed.’

RWNS's Jim Mole added: “We’re cautiously optimistic about the purchase.

“We understand initial plans are for a combined housing and heritage project, and its promotion as a waterside leisure facility.

The site contains a number of historically significant grade-II listed buildings (Image: Rightmove) “We don’t want to see it left derelict for many years, so we think this is the right way to go.

“Our purpose is to protect the heritage nature of the site, which is a lovely and historically highly significant riverside wharf.

“We’d also like to see it better connected to the main town centre, perhaps by way of walkways.

"We certainly hope not to see the total destruction of the heritage grade-II listed buildings."

In November 2023, a spokesman for the Canal and River Trust said the charity was 'seeking a buyer with a proven track record of delivering high-quality development schemes, sympathetic to the heritage importance of the various grade-II listed buildings on the site.'