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Widnes Waterfront Snaps Up Borough's Biggest Commercial Site

Source: Widnes Waterfront

Halton Borough Council has acquired a 40 acre site as part of the redevelopment of the Widnes Waterfront, with funding from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

NWDA funding of £6.1 million is supporting the acquisition and remediation of the 16.2 hectare site to enable it to be redeveloped for employment use.

The site is situated off Gorsey Lane, in close proximity to the site of the proposed new Mersey Gateway bridge and is one of the largest parcels of commercial land to go on sale in the borough for over ten years.

The site is currently occupied by Bayer Crop Science Ltd, which announced closure of the site in 2007 as part of a restructure of operations and is due to vacate the site by March 2011.

In summer 2009, the Council will begin a masterplanning exercise to evaluate potential uses for the site, and create a detailed plan by 2010. When complete the Widnes Waterfront will generate and safeguard over 1,000 jobs in the area.

Tony McDermott, from Halton Borough Council, said: "This is a major step forward for the regeneration of the Widnes Waterfront. The sheer size of this piece of land offers unprecedented opportunities in terms of jobs and regeneration. Over the next eight months we will carry out extensive analysis into the potential uses for the site, and put together a strategic masterplan which will complement the diversity or the waterfront's current commercial offering."

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said: "This site is located in a key position within Widnes Waterfront and this investment will help to unlock its potential as a major new employment site for the area. The Agency has already invested over £6 million to take forward the transformation of Widnes Waterfront into a prime business location, and this additional investment will support further commercial development within the site."

Brendan O'Herlihy, Director of "BNP Paribas Real Estate, "We are delighted to be acting for Bayer on the region's biggest single sale of industrial land to a sole purchaser."

Steve Tynegate, Bayer's Site Manager said, "Closing the site is not pleasant work, but to multiply the number of jobs here in the future can only be good news for Halton."


Related Email: michael.travers@skvcommunications.co.uk
Related Website: www.widneswaterfront.co.uk

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