South Warrington distribution hub could begin operating in summer 2021

The public were asked to comment on proposals to construct the new strategic employment site, named Six 56 Warrington, towards the end of last year.

If built, it would be located adjacent to junction 20 of the M6 and junction nine of the M56 in Lymm but it would see a huge chunk of the borough’s green belt land released.

The location put forward falls within the ‘garden city suburb’ identified in the council’s local plan preferred development option.

Warrington-based developer Langtree and partner First Pannatoni, who are behind the proposals, say the hub will deliver 4,900 jobs.

Neal Biddle, from Langtree, confirmed the firm is currently planning a second round of public consultation.

“There’s still some technical work to be completed by our professional team in light of the public’s very helpful feedback from the first round of consultation,” he said.

“Therefore, we haven’t yet fixed on a firm date for submission of our application.

“That said, we’re working hard on the detail, so I would anticipate the application to be ready before the summer.

“If the application is successful then I would expect the site to be ready for the first occupiers to start operating around two years later.

“The scheme can deliver thousands of new jobs for Warrington across a wide range of roles and salary levels and help broaden the town’s employment base.”

Widespread concerns were raised by residents when the plans were first revealed, while Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid said he feared releasing green belt land to build a distribution hub in south Warrington could set a ‘worrying precedent’ and ‘open the floodgates’.

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But Mr Biddle has moved to highlight the importance of the development.

He added: “The scheme can also generate millions of pounds a year in new business rates in to the local economy to contribute towards valuable public services.

“Our proposal will also include significant investment in infrastructure to help ensure that not only is our traffic catered for, but that we aim to improve the situation generally and that traffic is moved away from residential areas and onto the motorway network.”