Ford may quit city as £30m Speke leisure plan gets nod

CAR giant Ford says it may pull out of Halewood if a £30m leisure park is built near by.

Amid cries of protest from the public gallery, Liverpool City Council gave the nod to plans, by Belfast-based developer Benmore,  to construct the out-of-town mall of shops, hotels and a cinema, which, it says, will create 325 permanent jobs.

But Ford’s European transport operations manager, Graham  Edwards, told the city planning committee that  the”New Mersey Leisure” plan would “undermine our operation  considerably”.

He added: “Should the committee choose to accept the applicant’s  submission, it would force me into  considering our position in this area.”

Brownfield

The scheme, which Benmore says would create 400 construction jobs, would involve the takeover of part of a site presently used for the storage and distribution of Ford vehicles.

It wants to build a seven-screen cinema, 18 commercial units and a 78-bed hotel on a 15-acre brownfield site near the New Mersey Retail Park off Speke Hall Road.

It has also won outline permission for a 120-bed hotel, another 78-bed hotel and a further three commercial units.

Addressing Ford's concerns, Benmore suggested there was a “substantial” piece of land which could be used instead, but  Ford rejected the claim.

The proposals also attracted the ire of Peel Holdings, various rail-freight bodies and the union Unite.

Peel, which owns land nearby, submitted an eight-page objection through its Peel Investments division. It argued the development, which will use land adjacent to a freight terminal, will frustrate the expansion of rail freight in the city and impact on the region's growth.

David Burrows, chief executive of Benmore Group, said he hoped work would start on the site this year and be completed by 2013:

"We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure this project is delivered on time and on budget, with minimum disruption to existing businesses using the site and maximum benefit to the people of Speke Garston," he said.

Bill  Verinder, from the Unite union,  added: “If this goes  ahead, Ford will do their best to pull out of here because their operation cannot continue. They are going to require more storage in future, not less.”

The planning committee was split four in favour and four against. Cllr John McIntosh used his casting vote to approve the plan. This was greeted with shouts of:  “You’ve just sold our jobs there.  A Labour council – you’ve got to be kidding.”

The land is in an industrial zone, so the decision will have to be approved by the government before work can begin.