WARRINGTON South MP Andy Carter says Six56 developers should take note of Warrington’s emerging Local Plan which would become a “farce” if the development was allowed to proceed.
Meanwhile, local Lib Dems suggest Langtree should withdraw their planning application and retire gracefully now Government inspectors have said the development site should remain in Green Belt and that the land is not needed for employment.
The first part of the adjourned Public Inquiry into Six/56 resumed this week and has now finished, with the second part set to resume in January, AFTER Warrington Borough Council is expected to have approved its Local Plan, following the suggestions made by the Government inspectors, to make it sound.
Mr Carter said: “This has turned into a rather strange planning inquiry in that the land which developers are proposing to build a gigantic logistics site on near the M6/M56 junction at Grappenhall is set to be removed from the draft local plan because Planning Inspectors have already decided it’s not needed to meet the employment land requirements for the Borough, so it will remain Green Belt.
“The applicant would need to show ‘very special circumstances’, that is, the land *is* needed for employment and should therefore be excluded from the Green Belt. If that were to happen now, (given one set of Inspectors say it shouldn’t) it would simply make the entire Local Plan setting process a farce, particularly as the Local Plan looks set to be approved by Councillors before the inquiry will be concluded. Approving this application would open the floodgates to developers putting forward plans for every other farmers’ field without any regard for the national planning framework, which underpins where we allow building.
“If the developers want to build a logistics park in Warrington South they should look at the Local Plan and then put forward an application on the land allocated for employment, if they need help finding where that land is they just need to get in touch with me and I’ll send them the locations.”
Meanwhile, Lymm Liberal Democrat Councillor Ian Marks said, “The first part of the adjourned Public Inquiry into Six/56 is now over. It heard evidence on issues like Heritage, Ecology, Air Quality and Highways but nothing to do with Planning and Land for Employment. These will be considered at the second half of the adjournment starting on 9 January.
“We now have clarity that it is almost certain that the Local Plan will be approved at the Warrington Council on 4 December. We believe that the Council will go along with the recommendation from the two Local Plan Inspectors to leave the land designated for Six/56 in the Green Belt so that its Plan is ‘sound’. Assuming this happens, it would make sense for Langtree to withdraw its planning application and retire gracefully. However it is by no means certain it will do this, because the company has a lot at stake. So the South Warrington Parish Councils Planning Group will continue its fight to stop this development with assistance from its planning consultant and barrister. The ‘harms’ caused by the development do not outweigh any advantages being put forward.”
The inquiry relates to land to the west of Junction 20 of the M6 Motorway, and Junction 9 of the M56 Motorway and to the south of, Grappenhall Lane/Cliff Lane (known as Six:56 Warrington) Grappenhall, Warrington.
Langtree PP & Panattoni are seeking Outline Planning (Major) – Outline application (all matters reserved except for access) comprising construction of up to 287,909m² (gross internal) of employment floorspace (Use Class B8 & ancillary B1(a) offices), demolition of existing agricultural outbuildings & associated servicing & infrastructure including car parking & vehicle & pedestrian circulation, alteration of the existing access road into site including works to M6 J20 dumbbell roundabouts & realignment of existing A50 junction, noise mitigation, earthworks to create development platforms & bunds, landscaping including buffers, creation of drainage features, electrical substation, pumping station, & ecological works, accompanied by an environmental statement.
Public inquiry set to resume on Six56 logistics Green Belt plan
