(Appendices Plr Vs 1.1) St Helens

DRAFT PROOF OF EVIDENCE OF VINCENT GEORGE SANDWELL PLR VS 1 (APPENDICES PLR VS 1.1)

ST HELENS METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL PARKSIDE ACTION GROUP (PAG)

LOCAL PLANNING AUTHORITY APPLICATION REFERENCES: P/2018/0249/FUL – PARKSIDE LINK ROAD (ST HELENS)

THE PLANNING INSPECTORATE REFERENCES: APP/H4315/V/20/3253230 - A49-A573 LINK ROAD (ST HELENS) APP/M0655/V/20/3253232 - A49-A573 LINK ROAD (WARRINGTON)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 2.0 PROPOSALs ...... 5 3.0 CONTEXT ...... 7 4.0 MARKET DEMAND PARKSIDE PHASE 2 ...... 17 5.0 STRATEGIC RAIL FREIGHT INTERCHANGE ...... 33 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ...... 37

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The following Proof of Evidence is prepared by Vincent George Sandwell on issues of Need in relation to planning application P/2018/0249/FUL in relation to the Parkside Link Road.

1.2 I have received instructions from St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (‘the Council’) acting as the Applicant.

1.3 I am a Director at BE Group, an economic and regeneration consultancy based in Warrington. My qualifications are a BSc degree in Urban Estate Management and I am a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. I am based in Warrington and have 37 years’ experience of the local property market of Warrington and St Helens, specialising in providing property market and agency advice with an emphasis on the business parks and industrial estates across the area.

1.4 Since 1998 I have researched and written the Warrington Annual Property Report, which is published by Warrington and Co, the Warrington Borough Council’s regeneration company. The Review records all transactions above 200sqm in the office and industrial and warehouse sectors and provides detailed trend data for the last 22 years.

1.5 I have provided property advice to developers, owners and the public sector for many of the industrial and logistics parks in St Helens and Warrington, commencing my career as a surveyor in 1982 with Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation responsible for letting and the sales of industrial property across the two towns.

1.6 For the past seven years I have led the company’s economic and regeneration consultancy work with a particular focus on economic needs and employment land reviews. I have undertaken employment land reviews across England and Wales on behalf of local authorities, which provide an evidence base to the preparation of local plans. Often these will require an assessment of economic need for distribution land and premises and I have advised on other distribution locations across the North West, Yorkshire and East Midlands. I have supported a number of local authorities at Examination into their local plans, including Stroud, Sefton, Charnwood, Amber Valley and Vale of Glamorgan.

1.7 I have recently project managed the Economic Needs and Employment Land study for Warrington to support the current draft local plan. For St Helens the following studies have been undertaken by BE Group, and which I project managed.

• Employment Land Needs Study (October 2015) • Haydock Industrial Estate Options Study, as sub-consultants to Mott MacDonald (August 2016); • Employment Land Needs Study Addendum Report (October 2017); and • Employment Land Needs Study Addendum Report (October 2017, amended January 2019).

1.8 I am familiar with the Parkside site and the nearby existing employment areas that have significant logistics components, most notably in St Helens the cluster of warehousing and industrial uses at Haydock, which has included recent large-scale warehousing developments at the Florida Farm North site and Penny Lane; the different employment areas around Warrington, including the recent development at Omega and I have also visited the sites that are the subjects of the other enquiries at Haydock Point, Wigan and Bolton.

1.9 Anthony Meulman, Associate director of the BE Group is representing St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in its capacity as Planning Authority for the Parkside Phase One Planning application (Ref P/2018/0048/OUP). Anthony and I both worked on the highlighted studies at paragraph 1.4, and I have liaised with him on the Council’s evidence base for the Phase One development some of which is drawn from those studies.

1.10 Andrew Pexton is representing the applicant for the Parkside Phase one study. I am aware of contents of the Statement of Common Ground made between Messrs Meulman and Pexton.

Professional Witness Declaration 1.11 I confirm that my report has drawn attention to all material facts which are relevant and have affected my professional opinion.

1.12 I confirm that I understand and have complied with my duty as an expert witness which overrides any duty to those instructing or paying me, that I have given my evidence impartially and objectively, and that I will continue to comply with that duty as required.

1.13 I confirm that I am not instructed under any conditional or other success-based fee arrangement.

1.14 I confirm that I have no conflicts of interest.

1.15 I confirm that I am aware of and have complied with the requirements of the rules, protocols and directions of the appeal.

1.16 I confirm that my report complies with the requirements of RICS – Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, as set down in the RICS practice statement ‘Surveyors acting as expert witnesses’.

Scope of Evidence 1.17 This Statement addresses issues for the Parkside Link Road (PLR) application. The Issues outlined in the Parkside and Parkside Link Road First Case Management Conference Summary1 that I address in this Proof of Evidence are (numbering is Summary paper’s numbering):

a. “the acceptability of the Parkside Phase 1 employment development and the link road in principle, having regard to the development plan, national policy and any emerging policy according to the weight accorded them and in particular policies governing the provision of an SRFI, development in the Green Belt wherein the application site is situated and the extent to which the proposed development is consistent with Government policies for protecting Green Belt land (NPPF Chapter 13 - questions of inappropriate/not inappropriate/openness/purposes), b. the extent to which the proposed developments would be consistent with Government policies for building a strong, competitive economy (NPPF Chapter 6),

1 CD 5.75 - PLR First Case Management Conference Summary and Directions

c. the current level of need for and available supply of employment land within the Borough and whether the proposed developments would contribute to meeting that need, compared with available alternative sites, l. any cross-boundary issues relating to the three other proposals under consideration by the Panel (Wigan, Wingates, Haydock).”

1.18 This Statement addresses the above issues, and in particular the demand for development arising from the land that would be served by the Parkside Link Road. Reference is made to the demand for Parkside Phase One, but that is not the primary focus of this proof. The issues are addressed through the following chapters:

• Chapter 2.0: summarises the characteristics of the proposed development as relevant to the assessment of need; • Chapter 3.0: summarises the policy context in relation to need; • Chapter 4.0: provides a market justification for Parkside Phase 2 and the need for the PLR • Chapter 5.0: provides a market justification for the SRFI and the need for the PLR • Chapter 6.0: conclusions.

1.19 A bibliography of documents referred to in this statement is provided in Appendix 1 .

2.0 PROPOSALS

2.1 This chapter outlines the proposals for the Parkside Link Road as relevant to this Proof of Evidence, and summarises the other applications being considered in tandem with the PLR application. Site plans are provided in Appendix 2.

Parkside Link Road – Planning Application P/2018/0249/FUL 2.2 The application is made by St Helens Borough Council.

2.3 The site is approximately 38 ha to the south-east of Newton-le-Willows and is approximately 3.3 km in length. It includes areas within St Helens and Warrington Boroughs.

2.4 Parkside Phase One, subject to a separate application P/2018/0048/OUP, is a proposed development by the applicant Parkside Regeneration LLP, a Joint Venture between Langtree Property Partners Limited and St Helens Borough Council of approximately 47.9ha and which will deliver 92,900sqm of B8 floorspace with ancillary B1(a) office space to the west of the M6 motorway. Phase One is not dependent on the Parkside Link Road and will be served from the A49 to the west of the site.

2.5 The Parkside Link Road would enable development of Parkside Phase Two site which comprises the remaining land to the West of the M6 and land that lies to the east which will deliver the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI). Whilst this application seeks permission for the road, it does provide a guide to the level of floorspace that it will serve, namely, 130,000 sqm of large scale logistics floorspace within phase 2 and 260,000 sqm of floorspace and the SRFI to the east of the M6.

2.6 This Proof of Evidence examines the need for the employment floorspace that would be enabled through the delivery of the Parkside Link Road infrastructure.

Other Proposals being Assessed at Inquiries 2.7 Three other proposals are being assessed in Inquiries before the Secretary of State. Site plans are provided in Appendix 2.

Haydock Point – Planning Application P/2017/0254/OUP 2.8 The application is made by Peel L&P Investments (North) Ltd to St Helens Council for land at the junction of the A580 and A49 at Haydock and adjacent to J23 of the M6.

The Appeal is for the non-determination of the application by the Council within the statutory timeframes.

2.9 The application is an outline planning application for up to 167,225 sqm of floorspace for B8/B2, ancillary office and associated site facilities on approximately 42 ha. The application is for up to 20% of the floorspace to be B2 general industry.

Tritax Symmetry – Planning Application A/18/85947/MAJES 2.10 The application is made by Tritax Symmetry to Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council for land at Junction 25 of the M6, bounded by the M6 slip road and A49 Warrington Road to the east, agricultural land to the north and the M6 to the west.

2.11 The application is a hybrid application comprising a full planning application for 27,871 sqm of B8 warehousing with ancillary B1a offices and an outline planning application for up to 106,095 sqm of employment floorspace (B8 warehousing with ancillary B1a office space).

Wingates Industrial Estate – Planning Application 04766/18 2.12 The application is made by Harworth Group Plc to Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council for land to the west of the existing Wingates Industrial Estate, south of the A6 Chorley Road.

2.13 The application on a site of 33ha is a hybrid application comprising an outline application for strategic employment development for industrial (B1c/B2), storage and distribution (B8) and/or research and development (B1b), each with ancillary office (B1a); associated education/training (D1), ancillary food and drink (A3/A4/A5) and associated works and a full planning application for demolition of buildings and infrastructure.

3.0 CONTEXT

3.1 This section considers the policy context and supporting evidence that is relevant to determining need and demand and to which I have had regard when preparing this evidence. In particular I reference the relevant national guidance – NPPF and PPG which guides the assessment of need. I also review economic needs and employment land reviews, and the local plans for neighbouring authorities and sub-regions. This will enable me to assess the current assessed need across those areas, and the supply of employment land that has been allocated to meet that need. The findings will help identify whether the assessed need and required land supply is based on local need only, or whether there is provision for demand that may be generated beyond local need.

National

National Planning Policy Framework (February 2019) (CD 1.1) 3.2 Chapter 6, paragraphs 80-82, of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – Building a Strong, Competitive Economy states that planning policies and decisions should “help create the conditions in which businesses can invest, expand and adapt.” (para. 80)2. Planning policies should accommodate the locational requirements of specific sectors, including for “storage and distribution operations at a variety of scales and in suitably accessible locations” (para. 82)3.

Planning Practice Guidance – Housing and Economic Needs Assessment (July 2019) (CD 5.153.4) 3.3 Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) provides more particular guidance on how local authorities need to plan for land to meet different business needs and notes that “Strategic facilities serving national or regional markets are likely to require significant amounts of land, good access to strategic transport networks, sufficient power capacity and access to appropriately skilled local labour. Where a need for such facilities may exist, strategic policy-making authorities should collaborate with other authorities, infrastructure providers and other interests to identify the scale of need across the relevant market areas.” (para. 31)4.

2 CD 1.1 - National Planning Policy Framework (2019), Chapter 6, Paragraph 80. 3 CD 1.1 - National Planning Policy Framework (2019), Chapter 6, Paragraph 82. 4CD 5.153.4 - Planning Practice Guidance – Housing and Economic Needs Assessment (2019), Paragraph 31

Planning Practice Guidance – Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (July 2019) (CD 5.153.5) 3.4 This PPG provides guidance on an assessment of land availability to identify “a future supply of land which is suitable, available and achievable for housing and economic development over the plan period.” (para 001)5. Such a study is used as evidence to inform decision making on use of sites, though it is the Development Plan itself to determine the use of sites.

Regional Context

3.5 The Parkside Link Road will facilitate the development of a distribution park and strategic rail freight interchange that will attract occupiers seeking a regional or even a national base. There is no single policy or evidence base that covers the North West Region, or provides clear guidance, on regional demand or need for B8 logistics warehouse space. Rather there are a series of documents which collectively help to demonstrate a need for regional distribution employment land. In addition, evidence drawn from individual local plans and employment land reviews that support those local plans provide evidence of the scale of employment land across the north west region and whether the current supply serves just a local market or contributes to a regional need.

3.6 This sub-section reviews those documents and also summarises the local plan evidence of neighbouring areas and authorities.

Liverpool City Region Strategic Housing and Employment Land Market Assessment (March 2018) (CD 4.159) 3.7 The Liverpool City Region Strategic Housing and Employment Land Market Assessment (SHELMA) provides a consistent evidence for the six authorities within the Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, St Helens plus West Lancashire) which forecasts the City Region’s B class employment land needs to 2037. The work was undertaken independently of each authority’s own employment land reviews but does provide both a City region wide assessment as well as a breakdown on an authority by authority basis.

5 CD 5.153.5 - Planning Practice Guidance – Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (July 2019)

3.8 The methodology for calculating need to 2037 for B1 and B2 space looked at both labour demand through the forecast jobs growth or loss for the period, and through historic take-up. But for B8 large scale warehousing, the study made a separate assessment that took account of the need for this sector that will be driven by increased port activity at the new Liverpool2 container terminal.

3.9 A key point to note from this report is the separation of large scale warehousing from local employment land needs.

3.10 The methodology for large warehousing assumed that the additional need arising from the port activity would not be accommodated through these typical forecasting methods, based on local need, and it looked at the likely direct demand for new warehousing stock, and replacement warehousing stock to meet that demand modelled on freight movements to the year 2047 when it was estimated 1,229,000sqm would be required. The land requirement to 2037 (in line with the other SHELMA forecasts) was forecast as between 308-397 ha across the whole of the study area6, although this was not split down to authority level figures.

Liverpool City Region Assessment of the Supply of Large-Scale B8 Sites ( 2018) (CD 5.83) 3.11 This study assessed the supply of land to accommodate large scale warehousing in parallel with the SHELMA. The study also assessed past trends of transactions of large industrial premises (>9,000 sqm) in the City Region and identified that for new build or renovated spaces, approximately 80% were for B8 warehousing and 20% for B2 general industry.

3.12 24 sites were assessed in this study and estimated that some 171.3 ha of land would be developable for large-scale B8 uses. The assessment looked at allocated employment sites in adopted local plans and those that had current planning permissions. When this figure was set against the findings from the SHELMA.

3.13 The report compared this with the land requirement to 2037 for large-scale B8 uses presented in the SHELMA of 308-397 ha (or 339-437 ha, including 10% buffer), and

6 CD 4.159 - Liverpool City Region Strategic Housing and Employment Land Market Assessment (2018), Pg 29, Table 16

concluded that there was a shortfall, stating “there is a clear requirement to identify more sites across the City Region to meet the identified need.” (para. 10.11).7

3.14 When the potential supply of land developable for B8 uses took in land not yet allocated or where planning permission had yet to be granted the potential supply increased to 295.6 ha. Notably, the land at Parkside East and West was included in this assessment, identifying around 80 ha on the west and 65 ha to the east. These figures do not exactly match the latest site figures for Parkside Phase One (47.2 ha) and Phase 2 (c.43 Ha) but are reasonably similar to indicate that the land identified in the Liverpool City Region Study covered Phases One and Two. 3.15 The outcome from these two City Region reports was if all land allocated, consented or earmarked for development of large warehouse development is taken into account, there remained a potential shortfall of 43.4 -141.4 ha.

Draft Liverpool City Region Local Industrial Strategy (March 2020) (CD 5.91) 3.16 The NPPF states that planning policies should have regard to Local Industrial Strategies. The Draft Liverpool City Region Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) (CD XX) sets out a vision for transforming together – delivering a competitive, clean and inclusive City Region. The strategy is based on five foundations, being: • Thriving and distinct places (Places) • The opportunity to turn potential into prosperity (People) • A dynamic business case creating opportunity (Business Environment) • Collaboration that turns innovation into impact (Ideas) • Connecting all communities to opportunity (Infrastructure)

3.17 The last of these, the Infrastructure Foundation, includes support for the clean growth of freight and logistics and recognises that the region is an important hub for logistics. Parkside’s potential for a major intermodal freight interchange was noted as part of the assets in this hub and a reason that the region will continue to be a hub for freight and logistics.8

3.18 The potential of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail was noted as an opportunity to increase service patterns and frequency and link Liverpool to other northern cities. Of

7 CD 5.83 - Liverpool City Region Assessment of the Supply of Large-Scale B8 Sites (2018), Pg 60, Paragraph 10.11 8 CD 5.91 - Draft Liverpool City Region Local Industrial Strategy, Pg 68

relevance to Parkside, the Strategy stated that this could free up capacity on the network for freight and logistics

Neighbouring Authorities Need Assessments 3.19 Parkside is in a strategic location on the M6 sitting between Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the West and East and Lancashire and Cheshire to the North and South. Whilst St Helens sits within the administrative boundary of Liverpool City Region, the market for largescale warehousing extends to those other areas, and this sub-section assesses the assessed need and supply in neighbouring local authority areas to examine whether there is a surplus of land that could meet regional demand beyond local need.

Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) – A Plan for homes, Jobs and the Environment Revised Draft – October 2020 GMSF – Employment Topic Paper (CD 5.153.6) 3.20 This policy estimates a need of 4,220,000 sqm of new industrial and warehousing floorspace for Greater Manchester for the period 2018 -2037. This is increased to 5,064,000 sqm in the Topic Paper when it allows a 20 percent buffer for choice. The policy explains that a high level of choice and flexibility will be provided in the supply of sites, with a focus on offering a range of opportunities across Greater Manchester, making the most of key locations and significantly increasing the supply of high quality sites across the northern parts of Greater Manchester.9

3.21 The Greater Manchester Land Supply Statement 2019 set out Greater Manchester’s baseline Industry and warehousing supply for 2018-2037 at 1st April 2018. This totalled 2,627,000 sqm and resulted in a shortfall of 2,437,000 sqm when set against the need figure.

3.22 Following this process, allocations were derived from each Greater Manchester Authority through a site selection process which identified land for an additional 2,731,000 sqm of industrial and warehousing floorspace (Sites identified in Greater Manchester Spatial Report - Employment, Jan 2019).

This allows a surplus of just 337,000 sqm of mixed industrial and warehouse floorspace for the whole of the Greater Manchester area across the plan period. The majority are

9 CD 5.153.6 - Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Topic Paper – Employment (2019)

serving the North Manchester area, with four sites serving the West M6 corridor, all located in Wiganand including the Tritax Symmetry – Planning Application A/18/85947/MAJES

Neighbouring Authorities’ Local Plan Assessment

Warrington Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA) (Mickledore/BE Group 2016 updated 2019) (CD 5.153.7) 3.23 The EDNA identified a need of 361.71 ha of employment land for the period 2017- 2037.

3.24 The current supply is just 83.91 ha resulting in the need for 158.28 ha of further employment land to be allocated. The assessment was based on historic take-up but did take into account the recent uptake at Omega which is a mix of B8 warehousing and large scale manufacturing. Thus, the assessed need does include an element of strategic B8. The take-up is based on completions of 13.88ha/year. This is the equivalent to six year’s supply from 2017.10

3.25 The emerging Local Plan does identify new allocations in a number of locations across the Borough, both in motorway related sites and also close to the town centre. However, Warrington Borough Council has decided to stop work on the preparation of its local plan while it assesses the impact of Covid-19, the Government’s proposed planning reforms and national guidance on calculating housing need. The delay is until Summer 2021

Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy 2017 (CD 5.153.9) The Alignment of Economic, Employment & Housing Strategy Report (AEEHS) (2015) (CD 5.153.8) 3.26 The expected level of development of employment land for the period 2010-2030 is 378 ha.11 The total local plan allocation is identified as 386.21ha for the 20 year plan period.12 Of that, 235.77ha has yet to be granted planning permission according to Cheshire East’s Annual Monitoring Report 2018/2019 (CD 5.153.10).

10 CD 5.153.7 - Warrington Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA), Chapter 7 11 CD 5.153.8 - The Alignment of Economic, Employment & Housing Strategy Report (AEEHS) (2015), Paragraph 3.58 12 CD 5.153.9 - Cheshire East Local Plan Strategy (2017), Appendix A, Table A.10

3.27 Take-up since 2010 is 31.1 ha with a further 178.86 ha committed to 2010.13

Wigan Local Plan Core Strategy 2013 (CD 5.153.11) 3.28 The Local Plan Core Strategy established a requirement for 200 ha for the period 2011 -2026.14 The latest Annual Monitoring Report identified 131.44 ha available, and just 16.5 ha taken up since 2011.15

3.29 The low take-up in part was attributed to the recession for the first four years of the plan period, but it was primarily due to the limited supply of good quality deliverable sites. The new allocations highlighted in the GMSF seeks to address this lack of quality supply to meet Wigan’s needs.

West Lancashire Local Plan 2013 (CD 5.153.13) West Lancashire Housing and Economic Needs Assessment (HEDNA) 2017 3.30 The local Plan identified a need of 75 ha for the period 2012-2027, based on historic annual take-up of 4.15 Ha/annum, plus a 20 per cent buffer.16

3.31 The supply to meet that need is a combination of existing allocations, regeneration of vacant and underused premises within Skelmersdale’s industrial estates and extending estates in Burscough and an element of allocation at rural sites.

3.32 No major new allocations have been proposed.

3.33 The HEDNA does not set a figure for large scale B8 for West Lancashire. Instead, it refers any need to be dealt with through the SHELMA.

St Helens Borough

3.34 This sub-section addresses the current assessed need for St Helens Borough which is set out in the evidence base documents prepared by BE Group, the Employment Land Need and Supply Paper 2020, prepared by the Council and the St Helens

13 CD 5.153.10 - Cheshire East Annual Monitoring Report 2018/2019, Pg 126-130 14 CD 5.153.11 - Wigan Local Plan Core Strategy (2013), Pg 61-62, Policy CP5 15 CD 5.152.12 - Wigan Annual Monitoring Report 2018/2019, Pg 39, Paragraph 12.5 16 CD 5.153.13 - West Lancashire Local Plan 2013, Pg 77, Policy EC1

Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Submissions Draft (January 2019) and incorporating Schedule of Changes (October 2020)

3.35 I summarise the findings of these documents, but they are dealt with in more detail in the Proof of Evidence for the Parkside Phase One Application by my BE Group colleague Mr Meulman.

Employment Land Needs Study (BE Group October 2015) (CD 5.79) 3.36 The objectively assessed need (OAN) for employment land in St Helens was undertaken by BE Group in 2015 within the Employment Needs Study which was prepared to inform the emerging Local Plan and which will replace the current adopted Local Plan Core Strategy, which provided a forecast need of 37 Ha to meet local needs for B1, B2 and B8 land to 2027.

3.37 The Employment Land Needs Study 2015 was updated with addendums in 2017 when the assessment of need was amended upwards and in 2019.

3.38 The 2015 study forecast an OAN of between 177 and 214 ha of employment land for the period 2012-2037, of which 30-40 ha was calculated as additional land arising from demand for major projects. Overall, between 100 and 130 ha was assessed as B8 warehousing.17

3.39 The 2017 addendum revised these forecasts in light of new market data that showed an increasing demand for warehouse space particularly from the growth of online shopping; increased local uptake of land and interest in developing B8 land locally; and the findings contained in the B8 Land Use Forecasts for the City Region, which in turn informed the SHELMA.

3.40 The outcome of the 2017 Addendum report was a total revised OAN of between 190 and 239 ha, of which 55-65ha were for additional land arising from demand for major project. The amount of B8 land forecast rose to between 110 and 155 ha.18

St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Submissions Draft (January 2019) (CD 3.18) and incorporating Schedule of Changes (October 2020)

17 CD 5.79 - St. Helens Employment Land Needs Study (2015), Pg 115, Table 64 18 CD 5.81 - St. Helens Employment Land Needs Study – Addendum Report (2019), Pg 12-13, Table 6 & 7

3.41 The St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Submissions Draft and has recently been submitted for examination and which is due to be held in 2021. The policy that sets out the direction of employment development is LPA02.

3.42 Paragraph 5 of this policy states that substantial new employment development will occur on large sites close to the M6 and M62 capable of accommodating large employment buildings (over 9,000 sqm).

3.43 Paragraph 6 identifies Parkside East and Parkside West as transformational employment opportunity sites that will make a major contribution to the economic development of St Helens, the Liverpool City Region and beyond.

3.44 Policy LPA04 sets out to deliver a minimum of 219.2 ha of land for employment development between 2018 and 2035 and identifies a list of 11 employment sites totalling 265.3 ha. 19

3.45 Since the publication of the list of sites 55.72 ha has been developed, with development of 51.53ha completed in 2020 according to The Council’s Annual Monitoring Report and which is contained in the Employment Land Need and Supply Background Paper (October 2020)

Summary 3.46 The evidence bases supporting the different authorities and sub-regions primarily forecast land requirement based on local need. In nearly all cases, the level of supply meets the assessed local need with little or no excess supply. The Liverpool City Region Assessment of Large Scale B8 sites (June 2018) highlights a shortfall of between 43.4 and 141.4ha, beyond the land identified in the SHELMA.

3.47 The Greater Manchester Spatial Framework initially recorded a shortfall of 2.437 million sqm, but further allocations were identified to make up this shortfall. No separate assessment was made for regional B8 needs or special projects.

19 CD 3.18 - St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Submissions Draft (2019), Policy LPA02 & LPA04

3.48 Warrington Borough Council’s evidence base, the EDNA (October 2015) did identify a need for 158.28ha of B8 land, but the emerging Local Plan which includes new draft allocations to meet need, has been paused until Summer 2021.

3.49 The St Helens Employment Land Study (updated 2017/2019) identifies a need of between 190-239 ha in total, of which 55-65 ha is for major projects. The St Helens BLP sets out to deliver 219.2 ha of employment land and identifies 11 employment sites totalling 265.3 ha and which include Parkside East and Parkside West.

4.0 MARKET DEMAND PARKSIDE PHASE 2

4.1 This chapter provides evidence of the need for Parkside Phase 2. It considers the role of the Parkside Link Road in delivering Phase 2, drawing on examples of other large scale warehouse developments that required significant upfront highways infrastructure to enable delivery of the developments.

Location 4.2 The logistics market in the North West, as in other areas, is strongly driven by location with access to market remaining one of the main factors when considering a decision for the location of new premises. For larger regional and national distribution centres, motorway access is a key locational factor, and in the North West, proximity to both the M6 and the M62 provides north-south and east-west access.

4.3 This puts Parkside in one of the most accessible locations in the whole of the north west region. The success of this axis has been evident for many years, as Warrington with four junctions onto either the M6 and M62 and a further two junctions onto the M56 to the south, has seen a constant high level of space take-up over the past 20 years. Research by the BE Group since 1998 has analysed all industrial transactions in the town above 200sqm. Over the past 22 years take-up has averaged 100,000 sqm a year.

4.4 Since 2013, this take-up has been dominated by the development at Omega with 329,759sqm completed. Parkside is almost the same distance as Omega from the M6/M62 interchange. This places it in as strong a location as what is considered as one of the best logistics parks in the North West. Importantly, Omega has road access only, and does not benefit from the potential for an SRFI.

Regional Market

4.5 A number of national logistics property firms produce data on take-up and the supply of warehouse space in the north west. Mr Andrew Pexton, Director of JLL has provided regional data on take-up and supply, which is also contained in the Statement of common ground for the Phase One application. I do not intend to reproduce that evidence here, but other nationally recognised organisations concur with that evidence.

4.6 Savills in its half yearly review – The Logistics Market in the North West – July 2020 (Appendix 3) record that take-up in the six months to June 2020 reached 245,260 sqm, which was the second largest half yearly figure they have recorded and represented a 128 per cent increase over the same period 12 months earlier and 56 per cent above the long term average. They recorded that 44 per cent of all space was for speculatively developed new warehouse space, and 56 percent within what they class as grade A space. The report indicated that a further 139,000 sqm of floorspace was in the pipeline for the second half of 2020.

4.7 The Savills report stated that the supply of floorspace dropped in the 12 months to July 2020, from 674,500 sqm to 393,900 sqm – a reduction of 42 per cent. When the long term average take-up of 369,750 sqm is applied, there is just over one year’s forward supply available. This compares with the take-up agreed in the Statement of Common ground of a take-up of 229,000 sqm since 2011, which would equate to 1.7 years forward supply.

4.8 When the pipeline supply is considered, Savills estimate 80,800 sqm, whilst Mr Pexton in his proof of Evidence highlights a similar 82,850sqm. these are set out in Table 1

Table 1 - Available New Build Premises and Units Under Construction Address Local Size (sqm) Authority Existing Speculative Build Venus 217, Knowsley Industrial Estate Knowsley 20,230 Kingsway 216, Kingsway Business Rochdale Park 20,104 F2/G Multiply Logistics North Bolton 13,860 H2 Heywood Distribution Park, Rochdale Heywood 13,829 Academy Knowsley 10,219 Liberty Park Halton 10,042 Total 88,284 Under Construction Unit 2 Omega Warrington Warrington 18,875 Unit 3 Omega Warrington Warrington 20,932 Source: JLL

4.9 With just 5.48 percent of the stock across the whole of the North West there is a clear under-supply of warehouse space.20 It is generally accepted that a vacancy rate of around 10 percent provides a reasonable level of supply and choice, and this figure has been tested and accepted by BE Group at a number of Local Plan examinations.

Market Activity 4.10 Nationally the picture is similar with Take-up in the third quarter of 2020 totalling 1.49 million sqm, double the 10 year average (Quote - Cushman and Wakefield – Place North West 27th November 2020). This is being driven by the demand from the retail section, particularly responding to the Covid crisis, and the continued demand from e commerce. JLL reported that in the first three quarters of 2020 e-commerce was 34% of total Grade A take-up (Quote - JLL UK Big Box Report Q3 2020 update), and online retailer Amazon alone accounted for 1.06 million sqm of space. (Quote -Cushman and Wakefield – Place North West 27th November 2020)

4.11 The Covid crisis has been the largest driver for the increase in take-up of space by retailers and on-line retailers, as a result of the severe lock-down. The health sector also drove an increase in demand, particularly in quarter one. This may be considered as a short-term demand if the pandemic is brought under control in the short term, but evidence points to a longer term change in the population’s shopping habits, with home shopping pre Covid increasing, and post -Covid reversing some of the online shopping habits may not happen.

The effect on warehousing from changing consumer patterns 4.12 Pre- Covid, shopping habits have been changing with an increase in online shopping, which has led to an increased demand for warehousing, a pattern that has accelerated since March 2020.

4.13 The range of digital platforms that a consumer now has for selecting, ordering, paying and collecting or receiving goods has had a very big impact on the demand for warehouse space to store and deliver those goods. This demand extends beyond the large national and regional distribution hubs that sit at the top of the distribution supply chain and which are strategically located. There is an increasing network of more local

20 The Logistics Market in the North West, Savill’s – July 2020

hubs and ‘last mile’ warehouses which receives goods for the last leg delivery to customers.

4.14 Deloittes undertook a study in 2014 (The Shed of the Future. E-commerce: its Impact on Warehouses 2014, Appendix 1). This looked at the changing nature of warehouse property and identified three key property types that would serve the e-commerce led market: • Multi-modal- Providing greater coverage and supply chain efficiencies and allow international shipments using alternative modes of transport to road to be moved quickly onto the network • Regional hubs – Need for efficiencies and volume will maintain demand for regional hubs • Urban warehouses – demand will rise for these local hubs as proximity to the customer base becomes paramount.21

4.15 Since the Deloittes report in 2014, growth has been seen in all three of these property types. Multi – modal hubs are growing at airports, ports and also inland ports providing the multi-modal transport links combined with large scale warehousing. Recent developments can be seen at Doncaster iport which has a rail link to the East coast main line and in the past two years, since it opened, has grown to six dedicated train movements (Appendix 7)22 and SEGRO Logistics Park East Midland Gateway, being developed alongside East Midlands Airport with dedicated rail freight line and direct access to the M1 motorway.

4.16 The growth of regional hubs and more local distribution centres is demonstrated through the expansion of Amazon’s property portfolio in the UK. Its regional warehousing network known as fulfilment centres, has grown from 14 centres in 2017 to 22 in 2020. In addition, it now has 40 local delivery centres which deal with last mile deliveries.

4.17 Growth in e-fulfilment supply chains has been keeping pace with rapid online sales growth. A study of 30 top U.S. retailers in 2019 by International logistics developer Prologis stated that online retail sales to require more than 3 times the logistics space to that of shop sales due to the need to store 100% of on-line goods within a warehouse

21 The Shed of the Future. E-commerce: its Impact on Warehouses (2014), Deloittes, Pg 5 22iPort Brochure, Web Address: https://www.iportrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/iPort-Rail- Doncaster-brochure.pdf

compared with shop stored goods, and to allow for greater product variety, deeper inventory levels, space-intensive parcel shipping operations, and activities such as processing returns (Appendix 2).23 Those retailers reported a 19 percent growth in warehouse footprint in 2019, compared with an average 6-7 percent growth over the previous five years.

4.18 In the UK the trend is also steadily upwards. ONS records internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales, and as Table 2 shows (Appendix 4), in February 2010 on-line sales accounted for around seven percent of total retail sales.24 In the past 10 years this rose to 19 percent in February 2020, immediately before the first Covid lockdown. Lockdown resulted in an increase to a peak of 32.8 percent in May 2020, and although the end of the first lockdown reduced the level, sales only fell to 26.1 percent out of lockdown in September 2020.

Table 2 – Internet Sales as a Percentage of Total Retail Sales (Appendix 4)

Source: ONS, 2020

23 COVID-19 Special Report #6: Accelerated Retail Evolution Could Bolster Demand for Well-Located Logistics Space, Prologis (June 2020), Pg 2 24 ONS, Web Address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/timeseries/j4mc/drsi, December 2020

4.19 If the current spike resulting from the Covid crisis is removed from this trend data, the increase in percentage share of sales is a steady trend upwards. This reflects the activity that is being seen across the North West property market.

Development lead-in 4.20 There is a clear shortage of current warehouse space available in the market, and there is a very limited amount of pipeline development. In recent years, take-up has been driven by availability. As sites and buildings are developed take-up follows. This can be seen in the following graph for Warrington where new development results in an almost immediate increase in take- up.

WARRINGTON INDUSTRIAL TAKE-UP & DEVELOPMENT (1998-2017)

2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000

Sqft 1,000,000 500,000

2005 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Year

INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL TAKE-UP DEVELOPMENT (1998-2017) (1998-2017)

Source: BE Group

Omega, Warrington 4.21 The most marked increase is from 2013, which saw the commencement of the B8 development at Omega. From 2013 to 2020 over 329,750 sqm sqm was let or sold to occupiers at Omega. That followed a period of 12 years from when the developer was first appointed by English Partnerships (Homes England) to deliver a mixed use business park. The main issue facing the development partnership was one of viability and the cost and lead in time to implement both on-site and off-site infrastructure.

4.22 It required completion of a new junction onto the M62 – Junction 8 that was completed in 2002. Five years later in 2007 outline planning consent was granted for 288,000 sqm of mixed use floorspace and the spine road to serve the site, but it was a further

five years before detailed consent was granted for the first warehouses. Further improvement was required to the junction to ensure the site as a whole could be developed, and these were completed in 2019.

4.23 For Omega, once development could start, the take-up by business saw 373,400 sqm developed in seven years, with a land take of c. 100 ha.

Table 3 – Omega Warrington Transactions Year Site Tenant/Purchaser Size (sqm) Land Area (ha) 2020 Unit 2 Mountpark The Delivery 12,808 n/a Group 2019 Unit 1 Mountpark Royal Mail 32,158 7.75 2018 Omega North Haydock 3,251 1.33 Commercial Vehicles Ltd 2017 Prime, Omega South Amazon Ltd 33,073 7.74 2017 Omega South Domino’s Pizza 10,870 n/a Group Ltd 2016 Prime, Omega South London Metric 33,073 n/a Property 2015 Omega South The Hut Group 64,103 16.83 2015 Omega South Plastic Omnium 22,297 7.50 2014 Omega North Travis Perkins 58,621 13.57 2014 Omega South ASDA/Bericote 55,741 11.09 2014 Omega North Hermes 14,269 7.44 2013 Omega North Brakes 18,395 7.23 TOTAL 329,759 Source: Warrington Annual Property Reports, LandInsight

4.24 Whilst the park is widely seen as distribution location, and a criticism levelled at such development is the low level of jobs created, two of the occupiers are manufacturing facilities. These are Domino’s Pizzas and Plastic Omnium, which serves the

automotive industry in Merseyside. In total over 7000 jobs have been created across Omega in a number of sectors. Data from the Business Register and Employment Survey at LSOA level produced for the ONS records (Appendix 5) the Omega location include the following: • 4,195 employed in basic logistics sectors and postal services. 875 specifically in warehouse operations • 3,000 in facilities support roles (across wider area) • 160 in the Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products • 75 in the Repair and installation of machinery and equipment • 215 in the Manufacture of food products, 125 in beverage production • 1,000 in telecommunications activities (across wider area) • 5 in Computer programming, consultancy and related activities (across wider area).

4.25 Some jobs fall into the wider area and cannot be separated out.

Examples of Strategic Warehouse Infrastructure Projects 4.26 I have identified a number of other locations that emphasise the importance of the early implementation of infrastructure for major strategic warehouse facilities. These are outlined in Table 4.

Table 4 – Examples of Infrastructure Investment in Strategic Logistics Schemes Scheme Location Developer(s) Details Infrastructure Comments Outcome Logistics North Former Cutacre Harworth Proposal, consented at The Outline Application comprised two Logistics North is one of the North Opencast Mining Site, outline in December elements: West’s largest live commercial Land to The South of 2013 for 3 million sqft • A: Outline masterplan for phased developments with 3 million sqft of The A6 (Salford (279,000 sqm) of employment development scheme Grade A logistics and Road/Manchester commercial space comprising up to 102 ha of B2/B8 and manufacturing space completed Road West) expected to deliver over associated/ancillary uses including and occupied, by companies £300 million of Gross business (Class B1), hotel (Class C1), including Aldi, Lidl, Whistl and Off the M61, J4 Value Added to the local shop, services and food & drink (Classes Komatsu MBDA. 5,500 people are Bolton BL5 1BT economy and over 7,000 A1-A5), with associated access, utilities, employed on-site. jobs. ground works and sustainable drainage system. Harworth is now developing a • B: Full approval sought for access and 50,809 sqft (4,720 sqm) unit on drainage infrastructure to serve initial Logistics North’s last available plot phase(s) of development Multiply Phase 3 – the final phase – Element B comprised a spine road 350 also has detailed planning in place metres from the A6 south to a new 650,000 for a development of 131,341 sqft sqft (60,000 sqm) B8 Distribution Warehouse (12,000 sqm) unit (F2/H). for Aldi and associated roundabout junction on the A6. This was required both to open up the site and allow delivery of the Aldi warehouse as an enabling investment in the scheme. Aldi sought a separate consent for its warehouse and the access with a total development cost of £50 million. This

element of the project was completed in 2016. Omega North J8, M62 Omega Omega is a £1bn, 233ha Proposals for employment development at Occupiers include Brakes, Hermes, and South, Warrington Ltd - (575acres) mixed-use Omega, originally the Burtonwood Travis Perkins, ASDA, the Hut Warrington Miller development with Aerodrome, can be traced back to an Group, Royal Mail, Plastic Omnium Developments and logistics development approval under the New Town Act in 1987. and Domino’s Pizza with over 3 KUC Properties sites north and south of However, development was not possible million sqft (279,000 sqm) of B2/B8 J8, M62. until significant infrastructure was space delivered. Omega North is completed. £35 million was spent in the now full. In Spring 2020 it was creation of Junction 8, M62 which opened in announced that Mountpark would 2003. develop three new speculative logistics units, totalling 735,000 Evidence by the Commission for New Towns sqft (68,000 sqm) which would take for the Junction 8 Enquiry in 1998 focused on up much of the outstanding land in the importance of the Junction to the the South. delivery of Omega. The Inspector, in allowing the Junction, recognised the importance of Omega to the Region.

This investment significantly encouraged development with Omega Warrington Ltd founded in 2001 and an Application for Phase I and II of development submitted in 2003.That application proposed an investment in site infrastructure which would open up 94 ha of development land and

enable 3.11 million sqft (290,000 sqm) for development over a 10-15 year period. I Port Great Yorkshire Way, Veridon A 324 ha, 6 million sqft Planning permission was secured for iPort in At the time of writing, I Port is half Rossington, Loversall, (557,000 sqm) logistics July 2011. Greenfield land located on the completed. Key completions to Doncaster DN11 0BQ and rail freight hub in junction of J3, M18 and the A6182 White date: South Yorkshire. Incudes Rose Way, considerable up front investment • July 2017, a new 1.1 million a 12 ha multimodal, high in infrastructure was required to prepare the sqft (102,000 sqm), £100 volume, rail site. It is site for development. Development million logistics facility for able to accommodate the commenced in October 2013 to build the Amazon. Amazon have another UK’s longest trains up to Finningley and Rossington Regeneration 215,000 sqft (20,000 sqm) in a six times a day. It has Route Scheme (FARRRS). FARRRS was carried separate building storage capacity for out by Doncaster Council in a £32million • March 2017, a 215,800 sqft 1,500 TEUs. It is project to provide a highway from the M18 (20,000 sqm) multi-user connected via the South at junction 3 to the Robin Hood Airport with warehouse for Ceva Yorkshire Joint Freight additional links into Rossington and • Spring 2019 a 686,000 sqft Line, direct to the East Finningley villages and the new iPort (64,000 sqm) facility for Lidl, Coast Main Line and the terminal. Works included two bridges generating 500 jobs. UK national rail network spanning the East Coast and Brancliffe to Kirk Sandall (BKS) railway lines and four over the Infrastructure and groundworks watercourses. It completed in February 2016. underway for Phase II, another 3 million sqft (279,000 sqm). In 2014, the next phase of development Units from 55,000 sqft (5,100 sqm) included site levelling, surcharging, to 817,000 sqft (76,000 sqm) installation of the sub-base of the roads available on a build to suit basis. within the site, set up of the utility 731,000 sqft (67,912 sqm) under connections and the enabling works for the construction design and implementation of the rail freight

terminal. £21 million was directly invested in these works by Verdon. Most of this was completed before formal marketing of the B8 warehouses commenced. These works created an ‘oven-ready’ plateaux for the delivery of the built-to-suit and new speculative warehouse units ranging from 50,000 sqft (4,645 sqm) to 1.2 million sqft (111,524 sqm). On the back of this infrastructure, Verdon commenced development of the first two units speculatively in 2015. The rail terminal opened in September 2018.

SEGRO Logistics Adjacent to the A50 SEGRO 283 ha acre development Located on a greenfield site with no existing The infrastructure investment, plus Park East and A453 trunk with planning consent for strategic road access, extensive around half of the 6 million sqft Midlands roads and J24, M1. up to 6 million sqft infrastructure works were required in consented has been developed. Gateway DE74 2BB (557,000 sqm) of logistics advance of development. These works Tenants include COSCO, OOCL, (SLPEMG) accommodation. The included improvements to J24 and J24A of Games Workshop, Kuehne & Nagel, development the M1 including the introduction of a smart and GB Railfreight incorporates a 20 ha motorway system by Highways England, Strategic Rail Freight safer access to the A50 at Lockington and Of the outstanding, DHL has signed Interchange (SRFI) which Hemington and a new Kegworth by-pass. The leases for another 900,000 sqft will include a rail freight SRFI was also delivered in advance in 2018. (84,000 sqm) to be delivered over terminal, capable of SEGRO pursued a strategy of delivering on 2020-2021. handling up to sixteen and off site infrastructure simultaneously in 775 metre freight trains 2018, while seeking pre-lets.

per day, container Overall infrastructure investment, funded by storage and HGV parking the developer has been £100 million. East Midlands Trent Lane, Castle Clowes Partially developed rail Outline planning permission for the The EMDC is 50 percent complete Distribution Donington freight facility dominated development of the Regional Storage and at present (1.2 million sqft, 113,000 Centre (EMDC) by the 1 million sqft Distribution Centre, now known as EMDC sqm delivered, 93,000 sqm in the (93,000 sqm) e- was in the early 2000s. A subsequent Marks and Spencer facility). The commerce Distribution Reserved Matters approval for site wide remaining six plots can Centre of Marks and infrastructure provision, in October 2003, accommodate units of 73,000- Spencer. The site is also enabled development proceed and all the 235,000 sqft (6,871 sqm - 21,840 the home to the UK HQ principal infrastructure, site preparation sqm). of Moran Logistics and works and associated ecological and Birlea Furniture. Overall landscaping works were completed within a consent is for 2.5 million couple of years to deliver serviced plots sqft (232,000 sqm) of which could be marketed individually. Works B2/B8. Net developable included: area is 46 ha. • Creation of development plateaux • The main access provision including a new road from the existing Willow Farm Industrial Estate, bridge over railway line, estate roads and roundabouts and associated off-site highway improvements • Drainage infrastructure • Flood defence works • Landscape mounding • Utility services • Ecology mitigation.

Magna Park Lutterworth, Gazeley Home to 29 different Site was first consented in 1987, with Now one of the UK’s largest Leicestershire, LE17 occupiers, occupying in consent for an access road of around a mile logistics parks, including facilities 4XT excess of 8.3 million sqft from the A5, north east to Magna Wood. At for Toyota, BT, Asda Walmart, (771,155 sqm) of logistics that time Magna Park only had pre-lets for Disney, DHL and Britvic. floorspace in 32 buildings two warehouses for Asda but infrastructure Gazeley, is looking to expand on a 223 ha site. was provided in advance to permit rapid Magna Park Lutterworth from 8.3 further growth on this greenfield site. million sqft to 16 million sqft (1.49 Further premises were then developed on an million sqm) in the coming years. individual basis, as a mixture of design and Developments will include: build and speculative schemes. • Three speculative logistics and distribution units totalling 525,400 sqft (49,000 sqm) which will be available for occupancy in Autumn 2020. • A further unit of 746,500 sqft (69,000 sqm), subject to planning • Expansion south of the A5, with further infrastructure investment, to develop 2.8 million sqft (260,000 sqm) for design and build • Development of a further 91 ha in the north as an extension to the existing Magna Park. Source: BE Group, 2020

4.27 Of particular note is iPort, Doncaster which comprises both a regional warehouse location and a SRFI with access to the East Coast Main Line. This scheme was first mooted as part of a wider urban extension in 1990 when Doncaster resolved to grant consent but which did not proceed in its current form. I was involved in the development proposals at that time securing option agreements from land owners of around 445 ha, including the iPort location.

4.28 Key to the development was the securing of consent and the development of the FARRS Link Road, which was considered in its current location in 2006, but only opened in 2016, which in turn enabled development of iPort. The availability of the FARRS Link Road had a catalytic effect on the development of iPort.

4.29 For most of these locations the lead in period to establish the access infrastructure runs to years and without the road component, these examples show limited or no development at all is possible.

St Helens Market activity 4.30 St Helens has seen a strong increase in activity with the completion of new schemes at Haydock. These are listed in Table xx. Together, these land parcels comprise about 33.4 ha of land and these units have opened over the last two years. The 525 Haydock scheme was developed speculatively and at almost 50,000 sqm (500,000 sqft) was one of the largest speculative build developments in the North West, a strong sign of confidence in the St Helens market, which secured Kellogg’s as an occupier.

Table 5– Recent Warehousing Developments in Haydock Address Occupier Size (sqm) Land Area (ha) 525 Haydock (formerly Kellogg’s 48,830 10.07 Florida Farm North) Unit 1-2 Moore Park Amazon 30,000 13.61 Way Haydock Green, Penny Movianto 34,650 6.92 Lane Source: BE Group/JLL

4.31 All three sites were identified in the St Helens Economic Land Needs Report (addendum 2017/2019) (CD 5.81) as having planning permission25. The development of the three sites to this extent reflects the strong demand for B8 space in prime regional locations, seen outside St Helens, and particularly in the neighbouring Omega development reinforcing the market evidence of a regional demand for warehousing close to the M6/M62 axis.

Summary 4.32 The logistics market in the North West is driven by location, Motorway access is a key locational factor, and proximity to the M6/M62 axis provides both north-south and east – west access. Take-up around this axis has been consistently high for many years. National take-up is being driven by an increase in on-line shopping, and whilst in the past 12 months levels have increased with Covid-19, the long term trend has seen online shopping taking an increasing share of high street shopping.

4.33 Regional demand is outstripping supply, with an increase of 126 percent of B8 land in the past 12 months and which has left the North West with just over one year’s forward supply. The current vacancy level across the North West stands at 5.48 percent, generally accepted as a significant under-supply, and is the lowest level ever recorded.

4.34 There is a long term need for new warehousing to meet this increasing demand, but the lead-in time for new large scale strategic development can be long. Examples across the North of England and the Midlands provide evidence of the long lead in time. The delivery of infrastructure is one of thew main reasons for the long timescale, and as the examples show, the delivery of development sites and premises is dependent on the infrastructure being constructed.

4.35 Where new development does take place, the lack of supply to meet the demand results in an uplift in the sales and lettings to occupiers. This trend can be seen in Warrington over the past 20 years, and more recently in St. Helens.

25 CD 5.81 - St Helens Economic Land Needs Study – Addendum Report (2019), Pg 15, Table 8

5.0 STRATEGIC RAIL FREIGHT INTERCHANGE

5.1 This section reviews the evidence base for the SRFI, which has been produced to support the development of Parkside East. I also draw on the evidence of the recent strategic developments set out in Section 4.0 of this statement.

The Site 5.2 The proposal for the SRFI is to locate it on land known as Parkside East, which sits to the East of the M6 motorway. The land is wholly in the ownership of the developer iSec, with the exception of a small area of woodland which is on the edge of the site.

5.3 iSec is looking to develop a strategic rail freight interchange with a manufacturing and logistics hub. The freight interchange would connect to the rail network through and new rail link running to the north. Road access to the site at present is via the A573 Parkside Road. It is accepted that this is not suitable in terms of capacity and access to the motorway network, and consequently the road access will be via the Parkside Link road. The details for the iSec proposal are set out in the Parkside East Delivery Statement.26

Context 5.4 There is an historic proposal to deliver an SRFI which was outlined in The North West of England Plan Regional Spatial Strategy (2008) (CD 2.11)27. This document set out regional development policy for the North West. Policy RT8 stated that consideration should be given for inter-modal freight terminals at four broad locations, including Newton le Willows.

5.5 The St Helens Local Plan Core Strategy (CD 2.2) adopted in 2013 is the current plan for the Borough which will be replaced by the emerging local plan. Policy CSS1 of the Core Strategy identifies Parkside colliery site as a strategic location for a strategic rail freight interchange.28 The location was identified to the west of the M6.

26 CD 5.90 - St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Parkside Strategic Rail Freight Interchange Background Paper, October 2020, Appendix 2 27 CD 2.11 - The North West of England Plan Regional Spatial Strategy (2008), Pg 85, Policy RY8 28 CD 2.2 - St Helens Local Plan Core Strategy (2012), Pg 38, Policy CSS 1

5.6 St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 proposes the allocation of 64.55ha to the East of the M6 and 5.58ha to the west, which would sit alongside the Parkside West site.29

5.7 The case for an SRFI was considered by AECOM in 2016 when they were commissioned by the Council to undertake the Parkside Logistics Rail Freight Interchange Study (CD 5.54)30. The findings of this concluded that there was sufficient demand for an SRFI for the North West and that Parkside was the best location to satisfy that demand. The facility could accommodate eight trains a day, rising to 12 trains in the longer term, subject to further discussions with Network Rail and Transport for the North.

5.8 The findings of the AECOM are set out in more detail within the Parkside Strategic freight Interchange Background Paper (October 2020) prepared by St Helens Council. I do not intend to expand on the need for the SRFI beyond the findings of the AECOM report and Background paper. The AECOM report provides the expert advice on demand.

The need for the Parkside Link Road 5.9 Table 4 in section 4.0 of this statement highlights examples of recent SRFI development in South Yorkshire and East Midlands. Both locations are familiar to me. iPort in Doncaster has been developed on an employment site that I was involved in for over 15 years prior to the promoter of the development, Rossington Hall Investments selling their interest in the site to industrial and logistics specialist Helios. My involvement was land acquisition, whilst planning colleagues in BE Group prepared the original masterplan and planning application for an urban extension which incorporated plans for an inland port. In 2018 BE Group prepared the Review of Employment Sites for North West Leicestershire (Appendix 6) for the Council as part of their evidence base for the Local Plan. The review covered the East Midland Gateway, the location for SEGRO’s SRFI.31

5.10 Both locations demonstrate that an SRFI needs first class road and rail links to provide the capacity and access to the national motorway network.

29 CD 3.18 - St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Submission Draft (January 2019), Appendix 5 30 CD 5.54 - the Parkside Logistics and Rail Freight Interchange Study (August 2016), Pg 51, Paragraph 3.9 31 Review of Employment Sites for North West Leicestershire (2018), Pg 12, Table 4

5.11 Iport is served by a new link road which runs from Doncaster Sheffield Airport to junction 3 of the M18. Iport is immediately adjacent to junction 3. As a new SRFI location, the owners iport Rail have built up the rail freight usage in a two year period to six trains a day with three trains to Felixstowe, two to Teesport and a service to Southampton. The new overnight service will operate six days a week departing and brings the number of daily services between iPort Rail and Felixstowe up to three. The terminal also runs one daily service to Southampton and two to Teesport, one operated by food retailer Tesco (Appendix 7)32.

5.12 SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway has direct access to the M1, and required substantial upgrade to Junctions 24 and 24A to provide the access. It is connected by rail through a new interchange and line which runs to the Castle Donnington freight line. The facility has been designed to accommodate 16 trains a day and, and container freight storage. The freight line provides rail access to other rail freight interchanges and ports (Appendix 7).33

5.13 The infrastructure required to deliver these SRFI is considerable and was implemented ahead of the development of the facilities. They would not have been able to operate without the improved road network.

5.14 As evidenced with both the iPort and East Midlands examples, the lead in time for the procurement and development of the road infrastructure can be long, as can the development of the rail freight facilities. Without this infrastructure, the sites would not be able to operate as strategic distribution or rail freight locations.

5.15 The securing of consent for the Parkside Link Road is the essential first step to developing that infrastructure and will accelerate the development the SRFI.

5.16 Development at Parkside Phase One can proceed without the PLR. However, the level of development there is limited, with 130,000 sqm proposed, but with the level demand for the North West increasing, there will be a momentum building as Phase One is developed and occupied. That momentum will be lost if the PLR is not approved and

32 iPort Brochure, Web Address: https://www.iportrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/iPort-Rail- Doncaster-brochure.pdf 33 SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway Brochure, Web Address: https://www.slpemg.com/dl/scheme/SEGRO%20SLPEMG%20Maritime%20Brochure.pdf

constructed. The loss of the PLR would probably impact significantly on the assessed need to 2035 that requires Parkside Phase 2 and the opportunity for the SRFI delayed or lost.

Summary 5.17 The case for the SRFI is set out in AECOM’s 2016 (CD 5.54)34 study which finds there is sufficient demand for the SFRI and that Parkside is the most suitable location in the region. The proposal follows both regional and national policy to develop strategic rail freight in the UK. 5.18 Other sites that have been developed recently in Yorkshire and the East Midlands provide examples of the level of infrastructure needed, including high quality direct access to the national motorway network as well as the rail infrastructure.

5.19 This infrastructure is essential and needs to be constructed ahead of the developments operating. The lead in time for the infrastructure delivery is long, running to a number of years. In the example of iPort, the original master planning and land acquisition commenced thirty years ago.

34 CD 5.54 - the Parkside Logistics Rail Freight Interchange Study (August 2016), Pg 51, Paragraph 3.9

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Introduction i. The following Proof of Evidence is prepared by Vincent George Sandwell on issues of Need in relation to planning application P/2018/0249/FUL in relation to the Parkside Link Road. ii. I have received instructions from St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council (‘the Council’) acting as the Applicant. iii. I am a Director at BE Group, an economic and regeneration consultancy based in Warrington. My qualifications are a BSc degree in Urban Estate Management and I am a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. I am based in Warrington and have 37 years’ experience of the local property market of Warrington and St Helens, specialising in providing property market and agency advice with an emphasis on the business parks and industrial estates across the area. iv. For the past seven years I have led the company’s economic and regeneration consultancy work with a particular focus on economic needs and employment land reviews. I have extensive local knowledge having advised developers, owners and the public sector for many of the industrial and logistics parks in St Helens and Warrington, and having project managed multiple studies in the St Helens and Warrington area including: • St Helens Employment Land Needs (October 2015) • Haydock Industrial Estate Options Study, as sub-consultants to Mott MacDonald (August 2016) • Employment Land Needs Study Addendum Report (October 2017, amended January 2019). • Economic Needs and Employment Land Study for Warrington, to support the current local plan v. As a result, I am familiar with the Parkside site and the nearby existing employment areas that have significant logistics components.

PROPOSALS

vi. This chapter outlines the proposals for the Parkside Link Road as relevant to this Proof of Evidence, and summarises the other applications being considered in tandem with the PLR application. Site plans are provided in Appendix 2 of the main report.

Parkside Link Road – Planning Application P/2018/0249/FUL vii. The site is approximately 38 ha to the south-east of Newton-le-Willows and is approximately 3.3 km in length. It includes areas within St Helens and Warrington Boroughs. viii. The Parkside Link Road would enable development of Parkside Phase Two site which comprises the remaining land to the West of the M6 and land that lies to the east that will deliver the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI). The application seeks permission for the road, but also provides a guide to the level of floorspace it will serve; 130,000 sqm of large scale logistics floorspace within phase 2, 260,000 sqm of floorspace and the SRFI to the east of the M6.

ix. This Proof of Evidence examines the need for the employment floorspace that would be enabled through the delivery of the Parkside Link Road infrastructure.

Other Proposals being Assessed at Inquiries x. Three other proposals are being assessed in Inquiries before the Secretary of State: • Haydock Point – Planning Application P/2017/0254/OUP • Tritax Symmetry – Planning Application A/18/85947/MAJES • Wingates Industrial Estate – Planning Application 04766/18

CONTEXT

xi. This section considers the policy context and supporting evidence that is relevant to determining need and demand and to which I have had regard when preparing this evidence.

National xii. I reference the relevant national guidance – National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) which guides the assessment of need.

Such studies are used as evidence to inform decision making on the use of sites, though it is the Development Plan itself that determines the use of sites.

Regional Context xiii. This sub-section reviews economic needs and employment land reviews, and the local plans for neighbouring authorities and sub-regions. It also summarises the local plan evidence of neighbouring areas and authorities. This will enable me to assess the current assessed need across those areas, and the supply of employment land that has been allocated to meet that need.

Liverpool City Region Strategic Housing and Employment Land Market Assessment (March 2018) (CD 4.159) xiv. An assessment is made for the need for B1, B2 and B8 needs to 2037. For B8 large scale warehousing, the study took account of the fact that need for this sector that will be driven by increased port activity at the new Liverpool2 container terminal. The land requirement to 2037 for Large-Scale B8 was forecast as between 308-397 ha across the whole of the study area.35

Liverpool City Region Assessment of the Supply of Large-Scale B8 Sites (2018) (CD 5.83) xv. This study assessed the supply of land to accommodate large scale warehousing in parallel with the SHELMA. The study estimated that some 171.3 ha of land would be developable for large-scale B8 uses. The report compared this with the land requirement to 2037 for large-scale B8 uses presented in the SHELMA of 308-397 ha (or 339-437 ha, including 10% buffer), and concluded that there was a shortfall/need to identify further sites.36 xvi. The study identifies further land suitable for B8 development not yet allocated or where planning permission had yet to be granted, increasing the potential supply to 295.6 ha. However, even if all land identified for potential B8 development is taken into account, there remains a shortfall of 43.4-141.4 ha.

Draft Liverpool City Region Local Industrial Strategy (March 2020) (CD 5.91)

35 CD 4.159 - Liverpool City Region Strategic Housing and Employment Land Market Assessment (2018) 36 CD 5.83 - Liverpool City Region Assessment of the Supply of Large-Scale B8 Sites (2018)

xvii. The Draft Liverpool City Region Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) (CD XX) sets out a vision for transforming together – delivering a competitive, clean and inclusive City Region. The strategy is based on five foundations. The Infrastructure Foundation includes support for the clean growth of freight and logistics and recognises that the region is an important hub for logistics.37

Neighbouring Authorities Need Assessments

Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) – A Plan for homes, Jobs and the Environment Revised Draft - January 2019 GMSF – Employment Topic Paper (CD 5.153.6) xviii. This policy estimates a need of 4,220,000 sq m of new industrial and warehousing floorspace for Greater Manchester for the period 2018-2037. This is increased to 5,064,000 sqm in the Topic Paper when it allows a 20 percent buffer for choice.38

xix. The Greater Manchester Land Supply Statement 2019 set out Greater Manchester’s baseline Industry and warehousing supply for 2018-2037 at 1st April 2018. This totalled 2,627,000 sqm and resulted in a shortfall of 2,437,000 sqm when set against the need figure.

xx. Following this, further allocations were derived through a site selection process which identified land for an additional 2,731,000 sqm of industrial and warehousing floorspace. This allows a surplus of just 337,000 sqm of mixed industrial and warehouse floorspace for the whole of the Greater Manchester area across the plan period.

Neighbouring Authorities’ Local Plan Assessment

Warrington Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA) (Mickledore/BE Group 2016, updated 2019) (CD 5.153.7) xxi. The EDNA identified a need of 361.71 ha of employment land for the period 2017- 2037. The assessment was based on historic take-up but did take into account the recent uptake at Omega which is a mix of B8 warehousing and large scale manufacturing.

37 CD 5.91 - Draft Liverpool City Region Local Industrial Strategy (March 2020) 38 CD 5.153.6 - Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Topic Paper – Employment (2019)

xxii. The current supply is just 83.91 ha resulting in the need for 277.8 ha of further employment land. A need for 158.28 ha of land for B8 development is identified.39

xxiii. The emerging Local Plan does identify new allocations in several locations across the Borough. However, Warrington Borough Council has decided to stop work on the preparation of its local plan while it assesses the impact of Covid-19.

Cheshire East local plan (2017) (CD 5.153.9) The Alignment of Economic, Employment & Housing Strategy Report (AEEHS) (2015) (CD 5.153.8) xxiv. The expected level of development of employment land for the period 2010-2030 is 378 ha.40 The total local plan allocation is identified as 386.21ha for the 20-year plan period.41 Of that, 235.77ha has yet to be granted planning permission according to Cheshire East’s Annual Monitoring Report 2019.42

xxv. Take-up since 2010 is 31.1 ha with a further 171.86 ha committed to 2010 (AMR 2019).

Wigan Local Plan Core Strategy 2013 xxvi. The Local Plan Core Strategy established a requirement for 200 ha for the period 2011- 2026.43 The latest Annual Monitoring Report identified 131.44 ha available, and just 16.5 ha taken up since 2011.44 The low take-up is primarily due to limited supply of good quality, deliverable sites.

West Lancashire Local Plan 2013 West Lancashire Housing and Economic Needs Assessment (HEDNA) 2017 xxvii. The local Plan identified a need of 75 ha for the period 2012-2027, based on historic annual take-up of 4.15 Ha/annum, plus a 20 per cent buffer.45 No major new allocations have been proposed.

39 CD 5.153.7 - Warrington Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA), Chapter 7 40 CD 5.153.8 - The Alignment of Economic, Employment & Housing Strategy Report (AEEHS) (2015), Paragraph 3.58 41 CD 5.153.9 - Cheshire East local plan (2017), Appendix A, Table A.10 42CD 5.153.10 - Cheshire East Annual Monitoring Report 2018/2019, Pg 126-130 43 CD 5.153.11 - Wigan Local Plan Core Strategy (2013), Pg 61-62, Policy CP5 44 CD 5.153.12 - Wigan Annual Monitoring Report 2018/2019, Pg 39, Paragraph 12.5 45 CD 5.153.13 - West Lancashire Local Plan 2013, Pg 77, Policy EC1

St Helens Borough

Employment Land Needs Study (BE Group October 2015) (CD 5.79) xxviii. The 2015 study forecast an objectively assessed need of between 177 and 214 ha of employment land for the period 2012-2037, of which 30-40 ha was calculated as additional land arising from demand for major projects. Overall, between 100 and 130 ha was assessed as B8 warehousing.46

xxix. The 2017 addendum revised these forecasts in light of new market data. The outcome of the 2017 Addendum report was a total revised OAN of between 190 and 239 ha, of which 55-65ha were for additional land arising from demand for major project. The amount of B8 land forecast rose to between 110 and 155 ha.47

St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Submissions Draft (January 2019) (CD 3.18) and incorporating Schedule of Changes (October 2020) xxx. Paragraph 6 identifies Parkside East and Parkside West as transformational employment opportunity sites that will make a major contribution to the economic development of St Helens, the Liverpool City Region and beyond.

xxxi. Policy LPA04 sets out to deliver a minimum of 219.2 ha of land for employment development between 2018 and 2035 and identifies a list of 11 employment sites totalling 265.3 ha.48

MARKET DEMAND PARKSIDE PHASE 2 xxxii. This chapter provides evidence of the need for Parkside Phase 2. It considers the role of the Parkside Link Road in delivering Phase 2, drawing on examples of other large scale warehouse developments that required significant upfront highways infrastructure to enable delivery of the developments.

Location xxxiii. The logistics market in the North West, as in other areas, is strongly driven by location. For larger regional and national distribution centres, motorway access is a key locational factor, and in the North West, proximity to both the M6 and the M62 provides

46 CD 5.79 - St. Helens Employment Land Needs Study (2015), Pg 115, Table 64 47 CD 5.81 - St. Helens Employment Land Needs Study – Addendum Report (2017), Pg 12-13, Table 6 & 7 48 CD 3.18 - St Helens Borough Local Plan 2020-2035 Submissions Draft (2019)

north-south and east-west access. This puts Parkside in one of the most accessible locations in the whole of the north west region. Take-up of land around the junctions of the motorways named above has been constantly high for the past 20 years, reinforcing Parkside as being in a prime location.

Regional Market xxxiv. Savills in its half yearly review – The Logistics Market in the North West – July 2020 (Appendix 3) recorded take-up figures 56% the long term average and a 126 percent increase in the take-up of land over the same period 12 months earlier. Additionally, the Savills report stated that the supply of floorspace dropped in the 12 months to July 2020, from 674,500 sqm to 393,900 sqm – a reduction of 42 per cent. When the long- term average take-up of 369,750 sqm is applied, there is just over one year’s forward supply available.49

xxxv. With just 5.48 percent of the stock vacant across the whole of the North West (lowest levels ever recorded) there is a clear under-supply of warehouse space. It is generally accepted that a vacancy rate of around 10 percent provides a reasonable level of supply and choice, and this figure has been tested and accepted by BE Group at a number of Local plan examinations.

Market Activity xxxvi. Nationally the picture is similar with Take-up in the third quarter of 2020 totalling 1.49 million sqm, double the 10-year average (Quote: Cushman and Wakefield, Place North West 27th November 2020)). This is being driven by the demand from the retail section, particularly responding to the Covid crisis, and the continued demand from e commerce.

The effect on warehousing from changing consumer patterns xxxvii. Pre-Covid, shopping habits have been changing with an increase in online shopping, which has led to an increased demand for warehousing, a pattern that has accelerated since March 2020. xxxviii. This demand extends beyond the large national and regional distribution hubs that sit at the top of the distribution supply chain and which are strategically located. There is

49 The Logistics Market in the North West, Savill’s – July 2020

an increasing network of more local hubs and ‘last mile’ warehouses which receives goods for the last leg delivery to customers. xxxix. The growth of regional hubs and more local distribution centres is demonstrated through the expansion of Amazon’s property portfolio in the UK. Its regional warehousing network known as fulfilment centres, has grown from 14 centres in 2017 to 22 in 2020. In addition, it now has 40 local delivery centres which deal with last mile deliveries.

xl. In February 2010, online sales accounted for around seven percent of total retail sales. In the past 10 years this rose to 19 percent in February 2020, immediately before the first Covid lockdown. Lockdown resulted in an increase to a peak of 32.8 percent in May 2020, and although the end of the first lockdown reduced the level, sales only fell to 26.1 percent out of lockdown in September 2020.50

Development Lead-in xli. In recent years, take-up has been driven by availability. As sites and buildings are developed take-up follows. This can be seen in the following graph for Warrington where new development results in an almost immediate increase in take- up.

Source: BE Group

50 ONS, Web Address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/timeseries/j4mc/drsi, December 2020

xlii. The most marked increase is from 2013, which saw the commencement of the B8 development at Omega. In 2007 outline planning consent was granted for 288,000sqm of mixed use floorspace and the spine road to serve the site, but it was a further five years before detailed consent was granted for the first warehouses. Further improvement was required to Junction 8 to ensure the site as a whole could be developed, and these were completed in 2019. Once development could start, the take-up by business saw 373,400 sqm developed in seven years.

Examples of Strategic Warehouse Infrastructure Projects xliii. I have identified a number of other locations that emphasise the importance of the early implementation of infrastructure for major strategic warehouse facilities. These include Logistics North (Bolton), Omega North and South (Warrington), iPort (Doncaster), SEGRO Logistics (East Midlands), East Midlands Distribution Centre and Magna Park (Leicestershire). xliv. Of particular note is iPort, Doncaster which comprises both a regional warehouse location and a SRFI with access to the East Coast Main Line. This scheme was first mooted as part of a wider urban extension in 1990. Key to the development was the securing of consent and the development of the FARRRS Link Road, which was considered in its current location in 2006, but only opened in 2016, which in turn enabled development of iPort.

xlv. For most of these locations the lead in period to establish the access infrastructure runs to years and without the road component, these examples show limited or no development at all is possible.

St Helens Market Activity xlvi. The development of new B8 land in St Helens at Haydock has resulted in an increased level of activity which reflects the wider regional demand for warehouse development in strategic locations. The activity reflects the demand seen elsewhere for a distribution location close to the M6/M62 axis.

STRATEGIC RAIL FREIGHT INTERCHANGE xlvii. iSec, the landowners/developers of Parkside East, is looking to develop a strategic rail freight interchange with an manufacturing and logistics hub. The freight interchange would connect to the rail network through and new rail link running to the north. It is

accepted that the A573 is not suitable in terms of capacity and access to the motorway network, and consequently the road access will be via the Parkside Link road. xlviii. Various regional policy documents/studies identify a need for an SFRI for the North West and suggest that Parkside is a suitable location, if not the most suitable for this to take place. Notably, Aecom’s 2016 Parkside Logistics Rail Interchange Study finds that there is sufficient demand for an SRFI, and that Parkside is the most suitable location in the region.51 xlix. Two examples of recent SRFI developments are worth highlighting – iPort in Doncaster and SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway. Both locations demonstrate that an SRFI needs first class road and rail links to provide the capacity and access to the national motorway network.

l. SEGRO Logistics Park has direct access to the M1 and required substantial upgrades to Junctions 24 and 24A to provide the access. iPort is served by a new link road which runs from Doncaster Sheffield Airport to Junction 3 of the M18 and is immediately adjacent to junction 3 (Appendix 7).52

li. The infrastructure required to deliver these SRFI is considerable and was implemented ahead of the development of the facilities. They would not have been able to operate without the improved road network. As evidenced with iPort, the lead in time for the procurement and development of the road infrastructure can be long. The securing of consent for the Parkside link road is the first step to developing that infrastructure and will accelerate the development the SRFI.

lii. Without the upfront infrastructure and the construction of the Parkside Link Road, the development cannot proceed and the momentum that is bult up with the development of Parkside Phase One will be lost.

51 CD 5.54 - the Parkside Logistics Rail Freight Interchange Study (August 2016), Pg 51, Paragraph 3.9 52 iPort Brochure, Web Address: https://www.iportrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/iPort-Rail- Doncaster-brochure.pdf