A THIRD bid to allow a concrete plant that was built without planning permission to remain standing has been lodged.

Warrington Borough Council has received a fresh retrospective application for planning permission for the concrete mixing plant at the Forward Works Industrial Estate in Woolston.

The 2,000sq m facility off Bridge Lane was built in 2017, without having first gained the council’s consent.

And retrospective planning permission has twice been refused since, the most recent application being turned down last month.

On that occasion, Warrington Borough Council cited a ‘lack of sufficient information’ in the submission by Stoke-based Mincrete Ltd.

Warrington Guardian:

Both previous applications – the first having been refused last year – have been met with a number of objections from residents and Woolston Parish Council.

Concerns were raised over pollution, traffic and the scheme’s impact on wildlife in the area.

But in its latest bid, Mincrete says that the concrete plant will have ‘no discernible adverse impact’ on Woolston Eyes Nature Reserve – a designated site of special scientific interest (SSSI) located 50m away across the Mersey.

Warrington Guardian:

Documents submitted as part of the new application added: “The assessment of the impact on the SSSI has now been undertaken and is submitted as part of this application.

“It was envisaged that this report would have accompanied the second application, but although all the field work had been undertaken the report was not completed on time due to health issues affecting the author.

“The site is situated on a large industrial estate, and it is considered that the proposed use would be appropriate in this location – the existing office structure will remain undisturbed.”

Four full-time employees work on the site, which was previously used for storage and is in operation from 6am to 5.30pm from Monday to Friday.

A consultation on the plans runs until Tuesday, June 11.