Pharmaron inches closer to 400,000 sq ft Speke expansion

The plot in question sits south of Estuary Boulevard and spans 10 acres. Image via Google Earth

The Chinese pharmaceutical firm is expected to win approval for the first phase of redevelopment of a 10-acre site at Estuary Business Park, comprising a three-storey production facility.

Nearby, retailer T J Morris, which trades as Home Bargains, hopes to build a 100,000 sq ft warehouse on land east of Boulevard Retail Park in Speke. Both projects are tipped for approval by Liverpool City Council at its planning committee meeting on 13 September.

Beijing-headquartered Pharmaron Biologics operates from an existing facility on two Estuary sites it acquired from the previous occupier Allergan – part of US-based AbbVie – last March for $118.7m.

The building Pharmaron currently occupies with around 150 staff is called The Hub and sits on one side of Estuary Banks Road. This sits opposite a second building known as the NBC, which has 10 acres of undeveloped land to the south. Pharmaron wants to develop this plot in three phases totalling around 400,000 sq ft to expand its operations.

Under the first phase, the company would build a 213,000 sq ft production facility with offices, laboratories, and warehousing over three floors, plus associated car parking. Liverpool City Council has recommended the planning application for approval on 13 September.

Later, a second phase would see the construction of a multistorey car park with 350-400 spaces. The third phase would comprise a commercial warehouse and additional offices to consolidate operations from the Hub building on Leeward Drive onto a single site.

The first-phase application proposes a 16-metre-high production facility that is “appropriate for the setting and comparable to developments on similar sites elsewhere in the primarily industrial area”, which comprises mainly single and two-storey purpose-built units, council documents said. The car parking provision would include 20 electric vehicle charging points, according to the plans.

Estuary Business Park is located five miles from Liverpool city centre, close to the John Lennon international airport.

Also in Speke, T J Morris is hoping to gain permission to build a speculative business unit totalling 100,000 sq ft on a vacant five-acre site on the northern side of Speke Boulevard, east of the Boulevard Retail Park which houses a Home Bargains flagship store and other retail units.

The site, bounded by Pharmacy Road to the east and industrial or commercial uses within the Venture Point/Evans Road industrial area to the north, used to be occupied by housewares company Rayware, now based on Triumph Trading Park. The Boulevard site was left as a vacant development plot following the construction of the adjacent retail park in 2018, according to council documents.

Under the plans, T J Morris’ business unit would comprise an 88,000 sq ft warehouse, 11,000 sq ft of offices over two floors, car parking, a services yard, and external works and landscaping.

Planning officers have recommended both projects for approval.

The T J Morris warehouse is planning application 22F/0849 and Pharmaron’s production facility is application 22F/1314, both with Liverpool City Council.