Pharmaceutical jobs boost with new venture

The stretch of Penny Lane in Haydock which will be developed

Proposals have been passed for a huge new warehousing operation beside the M6, off Penny Lane, Haydock, after the British arm of an international drugs company confirmed it would take up the building.

Bosses at Movianto UK said they were willing to site their UK base at the Haydock Green industrial estate, providing planning permission was secured to raise the height of the venture from 10.8 metre to 16 metres.

Outline blueprints for the warehouse, alongside a smaller unit nearby, were approved in 2015 but this is the first time a definite occupier has been identified for the location.

Councillors in St Helens were told that circumstances had changed regarding the dimensions for the building, which measures just over 34,000 square metres.

David Tinsley, the company’s vice president, said in a letter to the authority that its requirements for the new building had changed, particularly following the securing of a new contract with the NHS.

He added: “The new building at Haydock will be a national flagship facility for Movianto UK.”

Councillors have also heard that Movianto have also signalled a possible interest in the first building, depending on their future business needs.

Work would also be found for around 150 construction industry employees while the facilities were being erected.

Planning officer Jennifer Bolton said in a development control committee report that the buildings, even at an increased height, would not appear “incongruous” set against the rest of the industrial buildings locally, when seen from the M6.

Before the scheme was approved by the committee, she added: “The site would still make a significant contribution to employment land ,,,in a location and size which is attractive to the market.

“The confirmation that Movianto, a large-scale logistics company, will occupy unit two, demonstrates the deliverability of thesite in the short to medium term.”

Several other major employment schemes promising hundreds of new j obs, including Haydock Point, also beside the M6, are still in the pipeline around Haydock.