Minister urged to back logistics schemes for jobs in North West

St Helens Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter to Secretary of State  for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick  urging him back the development of three logistics developments in order to unlock much needed employment in the region.

The schemes in St Helen’s include Peel L&P and PLP’s 1.8 million ft2 Haydock Point scheme at Junction 23 of the M6 motorway, Langtree and St Helens Council’s proposed 1 million ft2 regeneration of the 230-acre former Parkside colliery site in Newton-le-Willows and plans for an 850,000 ft2 plus Home Bargains warehouse on green belt land in Bold as part of the Omega South expansion.

The Chamber of Commerce said that the delay in progressing the developments could jeopardise up to 5,000 jobs.

St Helens Chamber chief executive Tracy Mawson wrote in her letter to the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government: “As the industry leading body within St Helens, the Chamber has been monitoring the inquiry proceedings for the called-in logistics applications across the North West, and wishes to express its support for the developments proposed for St Helens, which would bring significant investment and employment opportunities to the borough and the wider region.

“Within St Helens, Haydock and the M6 corridor are well-established areas for logistics and industrial development, located on a key north-south national route and centrally placed between Liverpool and Manchester, which is benefitting from ongoing investment in infrastructure across the region, including an enlarged Port of Liverpool.

“As such, I would urge the government to approve Haydock Point and the surrounding developments in order to deliver investment and employment opportunities as the region’s economy seeks to bounce back from Covid.”

Last month Jenrick gave the go-ahead for two schemes totalling more than 2 million ft2 after more than a year of deliberation.

Tritax Symmetry secured its 1.5m ft2 Symmetry Park Wigan while Harworth got approval for its 1 million ft2 at Wingates in Bolton.