The logistics property business may be roaring ahead, surviving and even thriving under the influence of the coronavirus pandemic, but it is not moving so fast in the north west.

The government has ordered an inquiry into four major logistics schemes clustered around the area where the north-south M6 motorway intersects with east-west transpennine routes.

The plans threaten green belt land and come as the newly elected Conservative government works to consolidate its recently acquired support in the north west.

The four schemes are Langtree’s proposal for a 1M SF logistics park on the 230-acre former Parkside colliery at Newton-le-Willows; Tritax Symmetry’s plan for 1.4M SF at Symmetry Park, Wigan; Liberty Properties and Stobart’s £75M plans for a 630K SF distribution centre at Warrington; and Harworth’s 1M SF plan for Wingates, Bolton.

Some of the plans have long and tangled histories. The Stobart plan was rejected by planners in 2018, whilst the Parkside plan met fierce local opposition. The site has been vacant for 30 years.

The inquiry will examine the effect of the Parkside scheme’s £38M link road on the Warrington green belt. More than 500 acres could be redeveloped close to junction 22 and 21A of the M6 motorway.

The Tritax plan was approved earlier this year for a 135-acre largely green belt site close to junction 5 of the M6 motorway.