Construction of the first phase of Liberty Park, Widnes, is underway following unanimous approval by councillors at planning committee.
The consent enables the development of a new 107,210 sq ft speculative warehouse, which will provide much needed high-quality accommodation in Widnes and will generate important new jobs for the county.
Liberty Property Trust and Stoford Developments have already commenced the infrastructure works and will be on site to construct the highly specified warehouse this month (November 2018) with a target completion date of July 2019.
Andrew Blevins, UK managing director of Liberty Property Trust, said: “We are delivering an extensive infrastructure works package which will enable the first phase to commence and pump prime the remainder of the site for further development.
“The site will have new life breathed into it, bringing jobs and inward investment to an area that is rapidly growing, thanks to the recent opening of the Liverpool2 deep water container terminal and Mersey Gateway.
“It will also add to our growing UK warehousing and logistics activity, mirroring our growth strategy with regard to our operations in the US, which currently owns and operates a portfolio of 100 million sq ft and touches nearly three-quarters of the US logistics market.”
Dan Gallagher, joint managing director of Stoford, said that the start of work on site heralds the beginning of an exciting industrial development in the thriving South Liverpool area.
“Working with Halton Borough Council, we are thrilled to be on site at Liberty Park, Widnes, which will bring a much-needed high quality warehouse unit to the area,” he said.
The existing outline permission allows for B1, B2 and B8 uses with consent for a single or multi unit scheme consisting of highly specified units with up to 15m eaves and 50m service yards, capable of delivering a further 360,000 sq ft of accommodation.
Located at the centre of the proposed 3MG rail freight distribution zone, Liberty Park, Widnes, will benefit from a range of enhancements to the surrounding road and rail infrastructure and has direct access to the national motorway network via the Knowsley Expressway. Access will be via Newstead Road and the new access road, which will run alongside the railway and link the site to the A562 Speke Road.
Liberty Park, Widnes is the latest industrial/warehouse development by Liberty Property Trust and Stoford, with others including Liberty Park, Lichfield, and Worcester Six.
