Wigan Council is being asked to formally oppose Tritax’s proposed Intermodal Logistics Park North, a vast 500-acre freight development planned close to Lowton, on the Wigan, St Helens and Warrington border.
For people around Lowton, Culcheth and Croft, this is not just a line on a planning map. The proposal could bring an estimated 1,200 HGV journeys a day, which is quite some addition to roads already familiar with congestion. Calling it a rail freight interchange may be technically accurate, but residents are understandably questioning how much of the traffic would actually be on rails.
Wigan councillors Dane Anderton and Jenney Gregory have tabled a motion for the full council meeting on September 23. It argues that the development would have a significant impact on Lowton and surrounding communities, while offering too little direct benefit to justify sacrificing protected land.
“The proposed Tritax rail interchange would extend across land within both Wigan and St Helens but with the most effects felt in our area of Lowton,” the motion states.
The council’s revised local plan has already removed land west of Winwick Lane, Lowton, from proposed development. Wigan Council previously included its section of the site in the draft plan, but later said employment needs could be met elsewhere. Sensible restraint is not usually the most fashionable planning policy, so it is refreshing to see it make an appearance.
Campaigners, including Gareth Edwards of the Lane Head South Residents Group, say the scheme would operate more like a road-to-rail interchange, with lorries delivering goods to the terminal and taking them away again. He warned that the highway impact could stretch up to 10 miles, affecting communities well beyond the site itself.
Those concerns should not simply be brushed aside as local opposition to change. A development of this scale would reshape the area, with pressure on roads, countryside, noise levels and nearby communities including Culcheth. The loss of farmland is permanent, while promises of mitigation often arrive wearing the same optimistic hat as every other major infrastructure proposal.
There is, however, a serious economic argument in favour. ILP North is described as a nationally significant infrastructure project and its backers estimate it could support up to 6,000 jobs, delivering economic benefits for Wigan, Warrington, St Helens and the wider region. Moving freight from road to rail is also a worthwhile ambition, provided the project genuinely achieves that rather than creating a giant lorry park with a railway attached for appearances.
Because ILP North is classed as a nationally significant infrastructure project, the Planning Inspectorate will assess the plans, with the final decision resting with the minister for transport. Further public consultation is planned for 2027.
The immediate question for Wigan Council is whether the claimed regional benefits outweigh the local cost. From a Culcheth perspective, expecting nearby communities to absorb thousands of additional HGV movements while receiving only vague promises in return looks like a poor bargain.