A BELIEF that plans for a huge freight park in Halebank could collapse in the face of the competition from an alterative site have been strongly rejected by Halton Borough Council.
The Friends of Halebank (FoH) group this week claimed that Parkside, near St Helens, has won 'influential backing' from the North West Development Association (NWDA), meaning proposals to create a rail freight facility of regional significance in Widnes could be in trouble.
The group claims that the Parkside proposal is based on exactly the same business plan as the Ditton proposals, but say the Parkside site is on brownfield land and that just one of the two can go forward.
But the council has hit back saying that no competition exists between the locations as they are both considered by the NWDA to be 'regionally significant developments'.
And the council believes FoH is mistaken in its view that the site in Halebank - Lovel Fields - is Green Belt land.
FoH has also claimed that Parkside is located away from housing by a nature reserve, but the council has now revealed that it has plans for landscaping around the Widnes site.
One of the campaigners, Flo Woodward, said: 'There is an absolutely overwhelming economic, strategic and environmental case in favour of Parkside. If the scheme goes ahead and creates the number of jobs promised then there will still be very significant opportunities for people from Halton, St Helens, Warrington and beyond'
The council has stated that £402,000 has so far been spent on the production of a master plan for the project.
Cllr McDermott said: 'The prize at the end of this is thousands of jobs for local people and I am sure that the Friends of Halebank will welcome these jobs.'
