Developer wins 160,000 sq ft West Lancs industrial appeal
Linden Hill Capital Management has been granted permission to build a logistics scheme on 10 acres next to Simonswood Industrial Estate after the Planning Inspectorate reversed the council’s decision to reject the project.
Linden Hill lodged an appeal over the refusal of its 160,000 sq ft project – a decision West Lancashire Council’s planning committee made against the recommendation of officers – last year.
Members were concerned about the impact the project would have on the “rural character of the area”. A second reason for refusal stated that the developer had “failed to adequately demonstrate via sequential testing a comprehensive approach to the consideration of available, viable and suitable alternative employment sites”.
West Lancs did not contest the appeal, agreeing the scheme should be approved in its opening statement at the inquiry.
Advised by JLL, Linden Hill Capital Management has now been granted approval for the three-unit project after the Planning Inspectorate concluded that the proposal would not conflict with the local plan and that the scheme would help to address a “significant undersupply” of employment space.
Joanna Gabrilatsou, regional head of planning at JLL, said: “There is a current lack of high-quality, mid-box warehouse stock in Lancashire which plays a critical role in any regional supply chain. It’s great that we’ve been able to secure permission for a development that will help to address this while also creating new economic opportunities in the area.
“The increased demand for these sorts of spaces is evident in the fact that a pre-sale for one of the units has already been agreed, and we anticipate this level of interest in the scheme will only continue as it progresses.”
The project team for the development also included AEW Architects, SLR Consulting and landscape architects Pegasus.
The development has already attracted its first tenant. International moving firm John Mason has agreed to acquire a 27,250 sq ft unit within the proposed scheme. The company will relocate from its current headquarters in Huyton.
