Tritax Symmetry lodges 1m sq ft Cronton Colliery revamp

The logistics developer has progressed plans to build an employment site and 65-acre country park on the site of the former disused colliery in Knowsley.

Tritax Symmetry has submitted a planning application to Knowsley Council for the 1m sq ft Symmetry Park at Cronton Colliery, a logistics park the developer claims could create more than 1,000 jobs within the Liverpool City Region.

A separate application for the development of the country park, which would include eight acres of wetland habitat and 11 acres of woodland, is expected to be submitted later this month, according to Tritax Symmetry, part of Tritax Big Box Reit.

The project team includes UMC Architects, Gerald Eve as planning consultant, Tier Consulting, The Environmental Partnership (TEP) and Tyler Grange.

The site, east of Junction 6 of the M62, forms part of the Halsnead Garden Village Sustainable Urban Extension near Whiston, which is part of Knowsley’s 1,600-home Halsnead Garden Village masterplan.

Under the plans, Symmetry Park would comprise four large warehouses, while the proposed country park would offer open space and community facilities connected by a 5km network of paths derived from the coal seams below the site.

A sustainable transport route following the abandoned mineral railway line is also proposed, connecting the towns and villages to the north and south of the M62.

Tritax launched a consultation on the proposals in August and estimates that the scheme would generate around £51m of net additional GVA for the local area each year.

Warrington-based charity the Land Trust, which manages open spaces, transferred part of the land earmarked for development to Tritax in July.

Matt Claxton, planning director at Tritax Symmetry, said: “The pandemic has had a significant impact on the national economy and bringing forward this new site will create much-needed employment opportunities and attract inward investment to this area of the North West, at a time when the economy needs it most.”

And Euan Hall, chief executive of the Land Trust, added: “Unlocking this disused land has provided us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring forward a country park of this scale and we are extremely pleased with the public response so far.

“With planning now submitted for the employment site, we are working on the application for the country park, which will be submitted by the end of this month.”

The country park would include eight acres of wetland habitat, according to Tritax