Council planners have given the go-ahead for the first phase of a huge logistics hub at a former Liverpool city region colliery. Tony McDonough reports
Work on phase one of an £80m logistics hub at the former Parkside Colliery in Newton-le-Willows can begin after the project secured planning consent.
On Tuesday St Helens Council approved the scheme which will see the construction of three industrial units totalling around 800,000 sq ft.
Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove gave the green light to the scheme in November 2021. In May 2023 Parkside submitted a ‘reserved matters’ application. This means it includes details not included in the original outline application.
Parkside Regeneration is a joint venture between St Helens Council and developer Langtree. Pre-construction work on the project began in summer 2022. It will now begin design work and seek a main contractor.
John Downes, chief executive Langtree, said: “It’s been a long road to get to this point, but that’s a function of the project’s transformational scale and the detailed nature of what was required to get us here.
“I’m very pleased with the outcome and my thanks go to the council’s officers and the planning committee for their hard work in assessing such a complex application.
“I began my career at Parkside in 1976. The colliery was the most modern pit in the Lancashire coalfield and was a great workplace for a great number of people.
“Returning the site to a modern major employment generator for Newton-le-Willows has long been a key priority for me.
“Opening the site to public access has also been a critical part of the whole design process and we have worked hard on the landscape treatment which features an extensive heritage and trim trail.”
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Spawforths is the planning consultant for the scheme, with Curtins advising on highways, Fletcher Rae the architects and TPM Landscape the landscape architects. 4ward are the project managers.
Local companies keen to bid for works packages with the chosen main contractor can register their interest with St Helens Chamber by clicking here.