Council officers rejected the plans three years ago
Plans for warehouses and other industrial floorspace at Carrington, Trafford(Image: Peel/Stantec)
A huge development is set to go ahead after a national planning inspector overruled a £5m demand by a Greater Manchester council.
Plans for 15,500sqm of warehouses and other industrial floorspace at a former landfill site in Carrington was rejected by Trafford council in 2022. Officers refused to grant planning permission for the project after demanding more money for a new relief road.
The local authority said developer Peel NRE must pay more than £5m towards the infrastructure work at the New Carrington site.
However, a government-appointed planning inspector has now overturned that decision, allowing the development to go ahead.
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In his appeal decision, planning inspector Tim Burnham said the monetary contribution was ‘not justified’ as a planning obligation.
He noted that the design and infrastructure specifications for New Carrington ‘do not appear to be known’ and that the location and cost of the proposed infrastructure is ‘unknown’, making it ‘extremely difficult’ to assess what a proportionate contribution would be.
The inspector also considered other objections to the development, including the presence of a Grade II listed church nearby.
However, he concluded that the public benefits of the proposal would outweigh the ‘heritage harm’ to the Church of St George.
He wrote: “The development would make a notable contribution towards meeting the employment and economic growth aspirations for the New Carrington Area through the supply of a substantial amount of B2 and B8 floorspace.
“This would be of benefit to the local economy and create jobs both within the construction and operational phases within an area earmarked for such development in substantial amounts. This is of substantial weight in favour of the proposal.”
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Greg Dickson, Planning Director at Stantec, who advised Peel NRE during the inquiry, said: “We are proud to have supported our client, Peel NRE, in demonstrating that the development will not give rise to unacceptable impacts and that in the absence of the masterplan for New Carrington the contributions sought would not meet the tests set out in national policy.
“The Inspector also rightly acknowledged the benefits that will be created through the supply and delivery of new employment floorspace.
“Looking ahead, the decision provides certainty on the role the site can play in meeting the economic growth aspirations for the New Carrington Area.”
A spokesperson for Trafford council said: “Trafford Council are naturally disappointed in the outcome of this appeal which hinged around developments in Carrington sharing the costs of the infrastructure necessary to support ongoing growth in the area.
“We will not be able to see the growth that Trafford or the City Region needs without supporting infrastructure – and unfortunately decisions of this nature only makes that provision harder.
“It is all too easy to ‘cherry pick’ obligations on individual sites, but this will not enable future developments to progress.
“We are now considering next steps in relation to this appeal decision – and in the meantime will continue working to complete the master planning for the area.”