VIDEO:RESIDENTS are being urged to rally at Warrington town hall to voice concerns over the threat to Green Belt in the proposed Draft Local Plan, as Langtree started their second stage of consultations for the huge Six56 logistics development at Grappenhall.
The campaigning Canaries on Tour, Tanya and Helen, demonstrated outside Grappenhall Community Centre on Bellhouse Lane, today (Thursday) as local residents were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the Six56 logistics development plan which would create 4,100 new jobs in the town.
They urged residents attending the consultation to turn out at Warrington Town Hall in force next Monday evening at 6pm, to show their opposition to the Draft Local Plan which is set to be discussed at the Executive Board. They are also calling on residents to attend at full council on March 25th, when the Draft Local Plan will again be on the agenda.
Meanwhile those attending the Six56 consultation were shown “fresh detail behind the plans and how feedback from stakeholders and the local community has been taken on board,” although many who attended claimed their concerns raised at the first consultation appeared to have been ignored.
Urging local residents to attend the town hall rallies Tanya said: “Our aim is to make people aware all over Warrington about things which are about to be sprung on us.”
Helen added: “Lots of people don’t seem to know what is going on. Everyone in Warrington needs to get together and sing from the same hymn sheet.”
Prior to the consultation, John Downes, group chief executive of Warrington based Langtree said: “We received a lot of very constructive feedback from people who live and work locally and these updated plans reflect that.
“People were keen to understand how investment in road infrastructure would improve the local network and our new proposals, if accepted, would see new investment in road capacity around the site. Our purpose is to facilitate quick access to and from the motorway junction so that there’s no additional pressure on local roads,” said Mr Downes.
The new plans, for land bounded by Junction 20 of the M6 and Junction 9 of the M56 motorways, provided more detail on the scheme’s investment in landscaping and ecology, as well as its proposed layout.
If approved, the proposed scheme is expected to generate around 4,100 new jobs when fully operational. Calculations by economists predict it will generate £7.1m a year in new rateable income for Warrington Borough Council and millions more in wages and local supplier purchases.
Langtree, who are promoting the site for development with Panattoni, say new employment sites are needed to maintain Warrington’s position as one of the UK’s most successful local economies and continue its track record of attracting new employers and jobs to the area.
Langtree and Panattoni are bringing forward their proposals in response to Warrington Borough Council’s emerging Local Plan, which has identified a need for 941 acres of new employment space over the next 20 years.
A further consultation takes place in Warrington tomorrow, Friday 8th March, 12-5.30pm: Outside Customer Information Point, Golden Square Shopping Centre, 27 Old Market Place, Warrington, WA1 1QB.
Further information is available on www.Six56Warrington.co.uk
But the development has been opposed by local residents living near Bradley farm, local councillors and Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid.
The Canaries on Tour at Bellhouse Lane Community Centre
