Residents speak out against plans for a huge rail freight interchange on Wigan farmland

Swathes of farmland on the Wigan border could be lost to a huge rail hub which would “swamp” the area with traffic, residents fear.

Off Newton Road in Lowton, houses back onto hundreds of acres of fields.

But around 500 acres is at risk, with plans for a strategic rail freight interchange on the Wigan/St Helens/Warrington border.

Residents fear the scheme would drastically impact their lives.

The warehouses are expected to stretch up to 30m tall, dwarfing the controversial Astley warehouses which are around 18m tall.

Campaigners against the plan believe calling it a rail interchange is misleading as much of the operation would be carried out by road.

Residents could see daily 1,200 HGVs journeys and up to 16 trains to and from the site, which sits between Lowton, Culcheth and Croft.

Lane Head South Residents’ Group member Gareth Edwards said: “Of course, they call it a strategic rail freight interchange, but actually the biggest concern is it’s really a road-to-rail interchange.

“It’s not as if trains come in and then unload and other trains take them on. The area will be swamped with traffic, particularly HGV traffic coming into the area to deliver into the rail freight interchange and also to take away from the rail freight interchange as well.

“It actually has highway impacts up to maybe 10 miles away, and it’s just the enormity of it. One of the biggest things after traffic is it’s a 24/7 operation.

“We’ll have noise and light night pollution all the way through the night. The railway capacity isn’t great, so most of the train movements will likely be done in the evening and overnight.

“That’s 16 trains in and 16 trains out every day when it gets to full capacity and these trains can be 750m long. That’s a real concern.”

Resident Simon Ellam said: “What they’re proposing is an enormous, and I do mean an enormous, industrial site close to the M6 at Winwick. There’s a lot of people up in arms about it saying it’s ridiculous, it’s too big for the area, etc.

“It’s going to be built alongside a road called Winwick Lane which, every single night, the local radio has a note that says Winwick Lane is queued, expect a tailback, expect to queue.

“We can’t survive as things stand around here. The roads are absolutely clogged day and night.

“So we’re questioning the validity of even proposing this scheme. It’s too much.”

Tritax has carried out a formal consultation, but this excluded key areas of concerns including traffic, air quality and noise impacts. It is understood further consultation is expected next year covering these areas.

A significant chunk of the land was allocated for this use in the 2022 St Helens local plan and campaigners fought it, but lost when the Government’s planning inspectorate deemed it acceptable.

But another shock came in 2024, Mr Edwards said, when logistics company Tritax bought the land. Its proposals went “far beyond” the land originally allocated, stretching into Wigan and Warrington, he added.

Wigan Council had initially included the portion of land that fell within its boundaries in its current draft local plan.

However, the allocation was one of four sites removed in the latest update, with the local authority saying it felt it could meet employment needs in the borough without using this land.

But residents still fear it could be used for this purpose and are calling for the council to commit to opposing development.

Mr Edwards said: “It’s almost come across like a bit of a publicity stunt, really. They’ll look good, Wigan Council will look good, but Tritax will just carry on.

“If I was in Tritax’s position, I would be challenging Wigan, and I would actually use the evidence that Wigan put on the table 12 months ago to support the fact that it should come out of the green belt. You can’t take that evidence away.”

Coun Paul Kenny, the council’s cabinet portfolio holder for planning, environmental services and transport, said: “We’re well aware of the strength of feeling from residents, which has been reflected by our decision to remove the site from the latest version of the local plan.

“We believe this latest version strikes the right balance between supporting economic growth and job creation, providing opportunities for residents, and protecting our environment.

“We will continue to engage with residents, businesses and other stakeholders to ensure their voices are heard, and we encourage people to express their views and concerns by taking part in the next and final phase of our local plan consultation by October 21.”

A spokesman for St Helens Council said: “Intermodal Logistics Park North is a site that has been allocated for employment-led development within the adopted St Helens Local Plan and therefore the council has already designated the area for employment development. The allocation reflects the site’s strategic role in supporting economic growth, job creation and logistics and industrial-related investment in the borough and as part of the Liverpool City Region (LCR). It is also important to note that the site is designated as a LCR Freeport Tax site.

“Given the scale and nature of the proposals being promoted, any future application is expected to be considered as a Development Consent Order (DCO) process as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. This means that the application would be determined through a national consenting regime rather than by St Helens Borough Council acting as the local planning authority.

“We recognise that residents may have concerns regarding proposals of this scale, including potential impacts on traffic, noise, visual amenity and the surrounding environment. At this stage, no formal DCO application has been submitted, and the proposals remain subject to ongoing consultation and development by Tritax. We would encourage residents to continue engaging with the consultation process to ensure their views are considered.”

A Tritax spokeswoman said: “Intermodal Logistics Park North is currently at the pre-application stage of the Development Consent Order process. The proposals continue to be refined and therefore the application has not yet been submitted for examination. The project team is continuing to engage with local communities, local authorities, statutory bodies and other stakeholders to understand concerns and inform the evolution of the proposals.

“There will be further consultation ahead of submission of the application in early 2027. This will provide additional opportunities for interested parties to review the proposals and share their views. The purpose of the consultation process is to gather feedback and ensure that potential impacts are fully assessed before any application is made.”

Warrington Council was approached for a comment but had not provided one at the time of publication.