Green light for huge £180m Warrington industrial scheme

Developers Langtree and Panattoni have been granted outline consent to build a 3.1m sq ft logistics development off Junction 20 of the M6, south of the town centre. 

Warrington Council approved plans for Six56 at a meeting yesterday evening. The project could create 4,000 jobs, according to the Langtree/Panattoni partnership. 

In addition, Six56 could generate £7.1m a year for the local economy. 

The proposals are for seven separate logistics units on a site allocated for development under Warrington’s draft Local Plan, as part of a wider 286-acre employment area. SGP is the architect and Spawforths is the planning consultant.

The scheme will focus on providing space for logistics businesses, explained John Downes, Langtree’s group chief executive.   

“It’s where the greatest demand lies and the jobs are much more diverse and better paid than people perhaps realise,” he said. 

“The average salary in the sector is around £29,000 and in a scheme of this type, there will be a wide variety of roles available, from entry-level up to senior technical and managerial roles.  This development is about ensuring that Warrington remains a competitive and relevant economy as the world of work evolves.”  

The Secretary of State will now determine whether or not to call in the application. 

In 2020, several large employment schemes were called in across the North West.  

These included: 

• Harworth Group’s West of Wingates, a proposed 1m sq ft industrial scheme in Bolton 
• Parkside Colliery, a 1m sq ft project to be delivered by St Helens Council and Langtree  
• Peel L&P and PLP’s 1.8m sq ft Haydock Point in St Helens  
• Tritax Symmetry’s 1.4m sq ft Symmetry Park in Wigan 
• Liberty Properties Developments’ and Eddie Stobart’s plans to build a 630,000 sq ft national distribution centre. 

Of these, West of Wingates, Parkside Colliery and Symmetry Park were approved by the planning inspectorate. The Eddie Stobart hub and Haydock Point were refused.