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PARKSIDE EAST:
TRANSFORMING LOGISTICS IN THE LIVERPOOL CITY New 2.5million sq. ft. logistics development and strategic rail freight interchange will boost the local economy for years to come A new strategic rail freight interchange (SRFI) project along with a new 2.5million sq. ft. logistics development is set to be brought forward in the North West by Tritax Symmetry, creating investment and employment opportunities in the region for years to come. Located within the Liverpool City Region’s Freeport zone on Junction 22 of the M6, Parkside East is an allocated employment site that sits within the borough of St Helens and the Liverpool City Region and lies next to Warrington and Wigan. Tritax Symmetry, the major logistics developer, acquired the 221-acre site in November 2023. Parkside East will be critical to the region’s delivery plans for logistics, supporting North-South and East-West movments, particularly import and exports between Liverpool, Hull, Scotland, and Felixstowe. St Helens Borough Council (SHBC) has already demonstrated its commitment by investing £56m into a new link road that will service the site, due to complete in the first quarter of this year.
A ‘transformational’ employment opportunity The Local Plan, adopted by SHBC in 2022, identified Parkside East as a ‘transformational’ employment opportunity and one which will make a major contribution to the economic development of St Helens, the Liverpool City Region and beyond. In this context, SHBC has removed the site from the green belt and reallocated it as a Strategic Employment Site, to deliver a strategic rail freight interchange alongside additional employment uses. Tritax Symmetry is now working up a detailed masterplan and will apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to allow the development of the whole project. Parkside East is the second strategic rail freight interchange project delivered by Tritax Symmetry in the last two years. In Hinckley, Leicestershire, the developer is seeking to bring forward a multi-modal freight interchange and distribution centre and up to 850,000 square metres of warehousing and ancillary buildings
Tritax Symmetry: a proven track record Tritax Symmetry is the logistics development arm of Tritax Big Box REIT plc, a FTSE 250 company, dedicated to providing best-in-class greener logistics buildings. The company takes a collaborative and entrepreneurial approach, providing an unrivalled choice of building locations and scale to its customers, including some of the biggest names in the retail, logistics, consumer products, automotive and TV/film sectors.
“We are constantly on the look out for projects that drive sustainability and prosperity for the region and the UK at large,” said Tritax Symmetry’s Managing Director, Andrew Dickman. “With the news last year that the HS2 leg from Birmingham to Manchester has been cancelled, this is a positive public-private sector intervention that will deliver significant investment into the Liverpool City Region and the wider infrastructure network. ‘We have several years’ experience with SRFI’s given our progress with Hinckley and have an excellent understanding of the economic benefits that they can bring to a region..’ “Parkside East is a significant project and one we believe will be an exemplar in providing greener, more efficient solutions, removing freight from main line stations – in doing so alleviating pressure and freeing up passenger capacity. We believe it is one of the most exciting infrastructure and development opportunities in the North given its proximity to the M6 and M62 motorway corridors.”
Devolution in action Sean Traynor, Director of Strategic Growth at St Helens Borough Council: “The adoption of the Council’s Local Plan in 2022 unlocked Parkside East and I am delighted to see this investment by Tritax Symmetry. We are looking forward to working with them, alongside our partners at Liverpool City Region, to develop a first-class intermodal Strategic Rail Freight Interchange, a key feature which makes Parkside East a development site of regional and national importance.” Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority awarded a £24m grant from its Strategic Investment Fund towards the Parkside Link Road project to improve connectivity to one of the city region’s key employment sites. Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Thanks to devolution, with local leaders working together in the best interests of our communities, we’ve been able to take a leading role in the regeneration of sites like Parkside. I am looking forward to seeing the site become a bustling hub of businesses and opportunity. “It will form a key part of our Freeport, which has the potential to attract international investment, create more well-paid, highly-skilled jobs for local people and build on our existing strengths. But, for me, it has to mean much more than that. I want to ensure that there is purpose behind this status that fuels greater social mobility, innovation, and inclusion for our whole region.”
For further information, please visit:
tritaxsymmetry.com/projects/parkside/
Liverpool Chamber
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