MORE than 200 jobs could be created in Haydock at a specialist healthcare and pharmaceutical business.

This news follows Morley Estates submitting a revised planning application for their proposed £60m development at Haydock Green, which will be occupied by Movianto – who are expanding the business after being based at a smaller site in another area of Merseyside.

Around 100 jobs will be transferred from the current site and an additional 200 jobs will be created.

The firm has also indicated a desire to work with the Northern Logistics Academy, based in St Helens, as regards training and development of staff in the years ahead.

There is a further 125,000 square feet building proposed which will be built during 2018 and completed in spring 2019, which will create a further 100 jobs.

Morley Estates is regarded by the local authority as a leading developer contributing towards the redevelopment and growth of the borough of St Helens and Haydock in particular and has been instrumental in attracting national and international firms to locate and invest in the borough.

Council leader Barrie Grunewald said: “We have been confident in the market assessments that show there is a need for modern logistics and supply chain facilities and this £60m investment in St Helens shows how real the opportunity is.

“In Movianto we would see a higher value operator coming into the borough who are also needing significant office accommodation alongside their logistics capability and who have already committed to working with local skills providers such as the Northern Logistics Academy.

“The company needed larger premises and their expansion will see 200 new jobs created with the prospect of 100 more.

This is a hugely positive vindication of the new economic approach we have as a council to attract investment and create new opportunities.

“2017 was record year for industrial investment in the North West and I think it about time that St Helens got a share of that economic growth.

“Over the next year I am confident we will see further investments into the borough as sites are brought forward to market.

"I believe Movianto coming to the borough will be the first of many new investments in the years ahead proving the opportunity that exists in the borough.”

Completion of the Haydock Green site will mark Morley Estates exceeding 1.2 million square feet of commercial space and £120 million of investment in Haydock in 20-years.

Conor McGinn, MP for St Helens North, said: “This is hugely welcome news and shows that St Helens is very much a place that companies want to locate and invest in. 

“The strong collaborative effort by the council, local educational institutions and the business community shows what we can achieve with a ‘Team St Helens’ approach. 

“I’m also really pleased that these jobs are coming to Haydock, particularly following the closure of Palmer and Harvey before Christmas.”