Inter-City set for battle over depot
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by Steve McQueen • Inter-City Transport will come under attack over its plans for a warehousing and distribution site on a former US Army base later this month.
North Western LA Martin Albu has called a public inquiry at Warrington into Transport Development Group subsidiary Inter-City's 0-licence application. Local residents are expected to attend the hearing in force. Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, a former Transport Secretary, is being drawn into the dispute. Warrington Borough Council asked him to intervene after the Ministry of Defence leased the land at Burtonwood to TDG and several other distribution companies.
The 186,0001112 site is one of the largest covered, heated and lit storage areas of its kind in Europe. TDG has had an interim licence since November; it wants to operate 60 vehicles and 80 trailers from the site.
But the environmental health services at WBC has asked for a restriction on any further leases, says section head Andrew Gilbert: "We are considering our legal position under the Environmental Protection Act as to whether we can serve notices for the noise nuisance on the operators concerned."
Warrington South MP Mike Hall is objecting against the application because of the loss of amenity—he says the site was previously a long-term storage site served infrequently by rail. "It is now a 24-hour container and lorry park, generating 3,000 vehicle movements a week on unsuitable roads close to residential developments."
WBC hopes a successful protest against the TDG licence application will help force other operators, including TDG subsidiary Williams and Swains, off the site.