United Utilities wins Warrington industrial approval
The water company’s property arm has been granted permission to develop 70,000 sq ft of logistics space at the northern edge of the Lingley Mere Business Park.
While Warrington Council gave United Utilities outline approval for the project, the scheme’s layout has not yet been decided.
Aew Architects has drawn up two possible configurations for the 4.5-acre site, known as Plot 9,000. One proposes a single, mid-box unit while the other calls for a multi-let complex with a series of smaller units across two sheds.
Lingley Mere was originally developed on part of the former RAF Burtonwood, which closed in 1991. Much of the business park was occupied by North West Water, now known as United Utilities, which maintains significant land holdings at the complex.
The park and the site of United Utilities proposed scheme abut Omega, the £1bn employment development straddling the M62 close to Junction 8 that is home to the likes of Amazon, Evri and Travis Perkins.
The United Utilities site currently has consent for an office development, but the demand for logistics space seen at Omega prompted a change in approach.
“The site is in an ideal position to satisfy the need for smaller units, as opposed to the generally much larger units coming forward at the main Omega site,” a planning statement prepared by CBRE said.
“As such, it is considered that the shift from office to general industrial and logistics uses represents a logical transition to satisfy the present demand in the market.”
You should see the size of the structure right in front of a housing development. I can’t believe they got planning permission. The unit looks far too big for the land! As if there are not enough units already built around there!
By Anonymous