Omega Warrington is set to provide more facilities for growing businesses in the North West, following the consent of outline planning for 2.1m sq ft of logistics and manufacturing space at 'Zone 7' of the 232-ha mixed-use project owned by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

'Zone 7', a 150-acre site situated on Omega South, will provide build-to-suit development opportunities for units from 75,000 sq ft up to a single unit of more than 1 million sq ft. The outline approval granted by Warrington Borough Council also includes detailed plans for a new access road to Junction 8 of the M62 and a 35-acre 'Green Heart' for wildlife preservation.

The delivery of 'Zone 7' is an important part of a wider Omega masterplan to create a high-quality, mixed-use development.

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In total, the whole scheme is expected to create around 24,000 new jobs for a range of skills in the North West, as well as 1,100 new homes, a school and retail and leisure facilities. It is expected further outline planning applications will come forward later in 2014 for residential and mixed-use developments.

Omega is a brownfield site comprising part of the former USAF/RAF Burtonwood Airbase. The site extends to 232 ha and is situated on the northern fringe of Warrington, midway between Liverpool and Manchester. The HCA has worked in close partnership with Omega Warrington Ltd (a joint venture between RBS Real Estate Asset Management and Miller Developments), the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership and Warrington Borough Council to secure investment for the site.

Andrew Sutherland, Joint MD for Miller Developments, said: "We and our partners, the HCA and Warrington Borough Council, have been working closely on the evolution of the masterplan for a considerable period of time.

"This represents the first of what we hope will be a series of planning consents that the council will grant. We have been speaking to a number of potential occupiers over the last 12 months and the delivery of this consent, combined with the almost 1.75 million sq ft of development that is already on site, will provide them with further confidence in our ability to meet their property requirements."

(CD/JP)