You’ve probably heard about the proposed Intermodal Logistics Park North Rail Freight Interchange (ILPN RFI) – a large-scale development planned for land opposite Kenyon Hall Farm along Winwick Lane. If you haven’t yet responded to the consultation, time is running out: the deadline is 11.59pm on Tuesday, 23 December.
Several community groups, including Lowton East Neighbourhood Development Forum (LENDF); Lane Head South Residents Group and Lowton West Residents are now campaigning against these proposals – not only hoping to stop them going ahead, but to ensure that significant changes are made if they are approved. If you share any of their concerns, it’s important that as many of us as possible have our say before the consultation closes.
What’s being proposed?
The development, backed by Tritax Big Box, would see 17 warehouses and an intermodal rail terminal with 4 huge railway sidings built on more than 500 acres of land, much of which is agricultural land or green space. It’s a significant project, and one that could affect daily life for people across Lowton, Golborne and surrounding areas for years to come.
What are the concerns?
Our local residents’ groups have been looking closely at the proposals and recently shared their concerns at a public meeting. Here are some of the issues they’ve raised.
Traffic is a big one. While HGVs would theoretically enter and leave via Junction 22 of the M6, other site traffic could use any route – potentially making congestion through the Lowton triangle even worse than it already is. The top of Winwick Lane has recorded illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide since monitoring began, and many of us already know how frustrating it can be to get through Lane Head at busy times.
Public transport in the area is limited. There’s no bus route on Winwick Lane, no bus from Lowton to Warrington, and no bus service from Newton-le-Willows station to Lowton after 6.18pm. With more than 6,000 jobs proposed for the site, that’s a lot of people who would likely be driving to work.
On the subject of jobs – while 6,000 roles have been promised, there are real questions about how many would be genuinely new and how many would actually go to people in Lowton and Golborne. The developer’s definition of “local” includes anyone living within a 20-mile radius, and their own documents suggest more than half of permanent roles could be filled by workers relocating to the area.
There are also concerns about the impact on Kenyon Hall Farm, a popular local destination whose views would be significantly altered by the construction nearby. And of course, there’s the permanent loss of more than 500 acres of agricultural land and green space – land that, once built on, won’t be coming back.
This is not a “done deal”
Even if the plans are approved, feedback at this stage can influence what mitigation measures are included. If we don’t ask for improvements – whether that’s road infrastructure, public transport or environmental measures – the impact of the development could be far worse than it needs to be.
How to have your say
This time of year is a busy one, and the idea of responding to such a complex proposal can seem daunting. But thanks to the brilliant work done by Lowton East Neighbourhood Development Forum (LENDF); Lane Head South Residents Group and Lowton West Residents, it needn’t be. They’ve produced a helpful crib sheet with suggested points you can raise. You don’t have to use their wording – feel free to adapt it or write your own comments entirely. You also don’t need to answer every question on the form.
If any of these issues concern you – whether it’s all of them or just one or two – it’s worth taking a few minutes to respond. Once the development is built, it will be too late.
You can submit your comments in several ways:
- Complete the online form at https://ilpnorth.consultationonline.co.uk/feedback
- Send an email to ilpnorth@consultationonline.co.uk
- Post a letter to Freepost ILP NORTH (no stamp needed)
LENDF suggests that every adult in a household completes a separate response to make sure as many voices as possible are heard.
If you want to help spread the word to your neighbours, printable posters to help spread the word are available at https://tinyurl.com/4kzzj5jf.