OPINION: Why are warehouses welcome in west of town but not south Warrington?

For ‘high places’, substitute the words Andy Carter MP.

Let’s look at the evidence shall we? As I’ve said before, I have a little bit more time on my hands these days and one of my ‘treats’ is the weekly bluster, braying, insults and prevarication known as Prime Minister’s Questions.

So it was with great interest I watched a recent edition and witnessed our very own MP Mr Carter take the opportunity to ask a question.

And he was, by his own admission, a very disappointed man (not as disappointed as I am, Mr Carter but we’ll come on to that in a while).

Mr Carter’s angst centred on a decision not to call in plans for a huge new warehousing scheme in south Warrington.

Warrington Borough Council’s development management committee approved planning permission in March this year, giving the go-ahead to Six56 proposals to build 3.1million sq ft of warehousing on green belt next to the M6 and M56 at Lymm.

Mr Carter, obvious very unhappy at the plan, asked for the decision to be reviewed by independent inspectors, however Secretary of State Michael Gove has opted not to do so.

Speaking from his place on the back benches, Mr Carter said: “Earlier this week, the Planning Inspectorate waived through a decision by Labour councillors to build a massive logistics hub in south Warrington.

“The plans are country to national policy, entirely in the green belt, and have been approved despite more than 1,000 letters of objection.

“Does the Prime Minister agree with me that listening to local communities and protecting our precious green belt must be at the heart of planning policy, and will he meet with me to see how local residents can have their voices heard?”

So what’s the problem here? Is it protecting the green belt or is it protecting the Tory vote in Warrington’s leafy suburbs? Is there something special about south Warrington that it demands to be protected, cosseted, comforted in a way other parts of the town aren’t – even in Mr Carter’s constituency.

Is it only south of the river that demands this special treatment?

I would like to make a suggestion. The next time Mr Carter is back in Warrington from his Westminster duties, perhaps he could get in his car and take a tour of the west of his constituency. I know it’s north of the Mersey and probably a path less travelled but from my experience, the natives are relatively well behaved.

If he ventures to that part of town, he might like to look at some of the massive warehouses (big sheds as they are known in the trade) that have gone up recently. And yes, I know some of them are in Warrington North but some of them aren’t.

Why is it acceptable for these massive developments in one part of his constituency but not in another? All I can deduce is that is in the west are somehow of lesser importance, less deserving of Mr Carter’s attention. I wonder why.

On another topic, I wrote last week about the incredibly amateurish shenanigans at Penketh Parish Council including bodged votes, double voting, anonymous letters handed over to the police and a fourth councillor’s resignation (out of 12 councillors) since last year’s election.

You’d have thought that the best thing for them to do would be to keep their heads down, sort out their mess and hope everything blows over.

But no, this is Penketh and they have their own very special way of doing things. Those who paid attention at the time will recall there was the most cack-handed election of a new chairman.

In a two-candidate race, the existing chairman lost to a challenger who just happens to be a Tory, the only representative of a political party on the mainly independent council.

And following in the now well-established Penketh Parish Council tradition, the losing former chairman has resigned from the council.

I know I joke about it, but to be honest, Penketh Parish Council is now beyond a joke.