Green light for new Omega distribution base
PLANS for a major new logistics base at Omega have been approved by Warrington Borough Council.
The 686,000 sq ft warehouse in the southern half of the business park at junction 8 of the M62 is understood to have been taken by the online retailer The Hut, but the deal has not yet been confirmed.
The developers said it was the largest single occupier planning approval in the region this year.
The Hut, based in Northwich, has been searching for a new logistics base of around 600,000 sq ft for some time and shortlisted Omega and Airport City at Manchester airport earlier this year.
It currently has two warehouses at Stretton near Warrington which are on short leases ahead of a planned move to a purpose-built site in 2016.
Omega is being developed by Omega Warrington Ltd (OWL), a joint venture between Miller and Royal Bank of Scotland-owned KUC Properties.
OWL secured outline permission for 2.1 million sq ft of manufacturing and logistics space at Zone 7 in May. It also has plans for a 35-acre green area at the centre of the site.
Zone 7 also includes a 600,000 sq ft, £100m distribution base for Asda which is the biggest single European investment by parent company Walmart. A Warrington Borough Council masterplan has suggested the 495-acre southern part could also accommodate 1,100 houses as well as shops and other commercial space.
At the 80-acre plot north of the motorway there are distribution bases for catering group Brakes, Hermes Parcelnet, and Travis Perkins.
OWL said the next phase of development will see an access road called Skyline Drive added past the new Asda building, down to Omega Boulevard.
Andrew Sutherland, joint MD for Miller Developments, said: “Omega is proving itself as the most deliverable scheme in the North West, with an impressive 2.5m sq ft of consented development achieved in the past 24 months alone.
“The approval of this latest reserved matters application represents the largest single occupier planning approval in the North West this year, and will enable us to bring forward the second development on Omega South, with premises for ASDA now well under way and due to open for business in 2015.
“Not only will this development create hundreds of new jobs on Omega, but it is an important milestone in the delivery of Zone 7, a 150-acre site which will offer a wealth of opportunities for smaller local businesses in logistics and manufacturing as well as large national occupiers.”
