Thousands of jobs coming to St Helens as £150m logistics hub secures greenlight

Plans for a multi-million pound logistics hub that will create thousands of employment opportunities in St Helens have been given the greenlight.

Developer Bericote Properties said it is already in talks with potential occupants for the £150m development, located at Florida Farm North in Haydock.

St Helens Council gave its backing for the project today (June 12), paving the way for the creation of 1.4 million sq ft of logistics floor space across two buildings and a new junction on nearby East Lancashire Road.

National planning and development consultancy Lichfields took the scheme forward on behalf of Bericote.

With the land chosen sitting in the Green Belt, Lichfields said it had to demonstrate that ‘Very Special Circumstances’ exist to justify the planning consent.

It is forecast that more than 400 construction jobs will be created during the two-year build phase, followed by a further 2,500 with new warehousing units, shops, services and other local businesses.

The head of Lichfields’ Manchester office, senior director Michael Watts, commented: “We are delighted to have secured planning permission for Bericote on this exciting new development.

“There is an overriding need for the provision of large-scale logistics buildings in St Helens, both to meet the economic needs of the borough and the wider needs of the Liverpool region – linked to Superport.”

He added: “We demonstrated that this need was sufficient to meet the very special circumstances test.”

According to Lichfields, the scheme will deliver a GVA economic boost of £23.3m once operational.

Speaking further, Michael said: “Bericote is in discussions with potential occupants, with work expected to start on the development later this year.”

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