MORE than 50 objections have been sent in by concerned members of the public over the Parkside Colliery development near Winwick.

Letters and emails have been submitted to St Helens Council after plans to regenerate the land at Newton-le-Willows, which has been vacant since 1993, were unveiled in January.

The blueprints include 93,000 square metres of employment space which could bring 1,300 jobs.

But some residents have raised concerns about the plans with some fearing that the increase in traffic could cause major problems for residents living in Winwick.

In one letter of objection, it was noted: “As a long-term resident of Winwick village I must protest in the strongest terms.

“The severe impact it will have on my surroundings will be drastic.

“We already have a massive traffic flow problem through our village that has never been addressed (more than 30 years to my knowledge).

“The scale of this project is immense.”

Another member of the public added: “This will make the traffic intolerable particularly during rush hours.

“I commute through Winwick to work and there is already considerable traffic delay daily – this will only increase with additional lorry and commuter activity.

“Additionally if this is to be 24 hour operation the noise will travel throughout the neighbourhood.”

Terry O’Neill, council leader and ward member for Burtonwood and Winwick, has previously spoken out about the plans, noting that the neighbouring borough must look carefully at the plans which are likely to be discussed in the summer.

He believes Winwick village could become a rat-run unless a link road from the M6 is built.

Parkside Regeneration, the joint venture between developers Langtree and St Helens Council, said it has made several changes to its original plans in response to public consultation last year.

A new link road in to the site from junction 22 of the M6 was suggested during last year’s consultation and has been carried forward by St Helens Council. The application also proposes several junction improvements on the A49.