Land swap deal gives green light for new rail line
AN exchange of land has been agreed between Salford council and Peel L&P allowing for the construction of a rail link by the developer at Port Salford.
The local authority will hand over land described as a ‘buffer’ between City Airport and Peel Green Cemetery to the developer in return for a larger plot of land, around 15 acres of a former farm which is protected by green belt status.
Council bosses say the narrow strip of land which Peel L&P is gaining has the potential for ‘some future development,’ but assured councillors that the transfer will not be complete until there is certainty the rail link will be created.
The green belt land which Salford council is gaining could become allotments or be used for tree planting, but no decision on future use has been made yet.
It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Liverpool City Region bid for a Freeport, which includes Port Salford, was successful.
The inland port on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which opened in 2016, will benefit from rail, road and sea links when construction is complete. Up to 10,000 jobs could be created at the site, where a further 320,000 sqm of employment space and a rail link have already been given planning permission.
The rail terminal would connect to the Chat Moss line westbound, linking it to the national rail network via the West Coast Mainline and the Port of Liverpool.
But landowner Peel L&P says it is now waiting for further information from the government about how the Freeport will work and what part Port Salford will play as a customs site following the announcement in the budget last week.
Salford mayor Paul Dennett, a selfdescribed ‘sensible socialist,’ has also welcomed the plans despite concerns about freeports within Labour ranks.
Speaking at a council meeting on Monday at which the land exchange was approved, he described the decision as ‘good news’ for the city.
He said: “This is all very much part of our economic response in terms of the challenges of Covid but also making progress with what has been a long-standing economic development initiative in the city of Salford.”
However, councillors said they were concerned that the land which was being transferred to Peel L&P could be used for other forms of development.
Deputy mayor John Merry said the only justification for transferring the land to the developer is for the purposes of construction of the Port Salford rail link.
Cadishead councillor John Walsh said: “My fear is that if they don’t build the rail link, then they’ll go off and build some houses on here.”
Councillors were given assurances that there is a strict condition that the land could only be transferred in the future subject to the rail link being delivered.
Peel L&P reserves the right to access the land it is transferring to Salford council to maintain the rail link, but this is expected to have ‘minimal impact.’
One of the plots of land the developer will acquire is considered public open space, but no objections were made to the council in relation to the transfer.
The land exchange was approved by the city mayor in private at the meeting.