Draft plans show council is building on borough’s future

● The Mersey Multimodal Gateway ‘3MG’ site in Widnes, where plans are earmarked for 40,000sqm of warehouse space, and Sci-Tech Daresbury, right, both identified as key economic zones in the plan should focus on redeveloping the borough’s landscape focusing on brownfield, derelict and contaminated sites, particularly in south Widnes and west Runcorn.

The document has predicted a retail boom in Widnes with floor space to grow from 2,046sq m to 7,200sq m not including convenience goods.

In Runcorn it forecast that retail floor space will expand from 2,207sq m to 5,669sq m in total without convenience goods.

Consultation on the plan is due to take place this autumn and the document submitted to the Government in 2018.

Cllr Ron Hignett (physical environment), in his foreword to the draft plan, said: “The plan is about more than just finding sites to build on.

“It is also about identifying where building shouldn’t happen at all or where particular care must be taken.

“Its policies protect what is important to local people such as parks and playing pitches, conservation areas and local wildlife sites.

“The development management policies need to be flexible enough to respond to legislative and market changes, whilst allowing the council to strive for excellence in all development that arises from the proposals it makes decisions upon.”