Warrington approves Peel’s £20m port

Warrington Borough Council has approved the first stage of Peel Holdings' plan to create a port near the town on the Manchester Ship Canal.

The £20m scheme will link new services with Salford, Liverpool, and the port located at Acton Grange on the Manchester Ship Canal.

Peel bought the 40-acre site three years ago for £11m and wants to refurbish a redundant berth on the canal and reinstate a railway line. The Manchester Ship Canal Company, a subsidiary of Peel, claims that jobs will be created by the facility and by using the existing railway line it will help reduce carbon emissions.

The scheme was opposed by Halton Borough Council, which raised concerns over the volume of heavy goods vehicle traffic.

There were also concerns raised from Warrington Borough Council initially over the port being built on green belt land. However, a report to the council's planning committee said that the scheme was justified because the port should increase the amount of cargo moved by rail and water.

The port is part of Peel's £50m Ocean Gateway scheme which is looking to develop a number of sites along the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey.