A MULTI-BILLION pound US investment company has been secured to help fund the Florida Farm North scheme, a developer has revealed.

Residents packed St Helens town hall on Tuesday evening to voice their concerns around the £150 million, M6 Major scheme, based in Haydock.

St Helens Council’s planning committee were there to decide two reserved matters planning applications outlining details of the two units, which were granted outline planning permission in January 2017.

Since then, one of the two units has reduced in size to accommodate the operator, which has not yet been revealed.

‘Unit 1’ will be a “34,114m sq commercial/industrial building” with “ancillary office and welfare hubs and the provision of associated infrastructure including roads, parking, footpaths, internal landscaping, noise mitigation measures and sustainable urban drainage systems”.

Developer Bericote Properties says it has secured an operator for Unit 1 but has yet to reveal the company's identity.

Caroline Musker, from Lichfields, the planning consultant for Bericote Properties, said: “The building is smaller but has been designed for a specific occupier and will introduce a new international operator to St Helens.

“The development of M6 Major represents substantial inward investment in St Helens and will generate significant economic benefits and direct and indirect jobs to this flagship site.”

She added that any potential impact on residents and surrounding areas has been "mitigated and minimised".

Meanwhile, Keith Wilson, development director of developers Bericote, revealed £40 million of funding has been secured to construct Unit 2, which is being treated as "speculative development".

He added it was a "huge coup" for St Helens, claiming the new funding partner was a "multi-billion pound US investment company".

Mr Wilson said: “Last January when I presented to this committee I said, if approved, the development would be the biggest investment in St Helens in a generation.

“18 months on and this is well on the way to being realised.”

Paul Parkinson, chairman of the Residents Against the Florida Farm Developments, spoke during the public speakers section of both applications.

In his first speech, he claimed: “The majority of members of this committee were misled by this developer into believing that there were very special circumstances for the development within the green belt.

“There were headline figures of 2,500 jobs and £2 million per year in business rates.

“The site we are dealing with, Unit 1, was originally granted outline planning permission for a warehouse of some 900,000 sq feet and it was claimed that a warehouse of that size was a regional asset.

“Mr (Keith) Wilson, the director of Bericote, told the planning committee demand for these types of building was extremely strong in the North West as there is a severe shortage in availability.

“He also said we are in conversation with operators to commence deals quickly and be operational by the end of 2018.

“Here we are today, two applications, this one for a warehouse reduced to just a little over a third of the original application.

“This deprives the region and the council of the job creation opportunities and the business rates.

“And the other application is for speculative development.”

However, Mr Wilson maintained the two warehouses would still deliver the 2,500 jobs mooted in the original application.

The Bericote boss said the project is on the threshold of delivering more than £100 million of inward investment.

He said the council has pushed Bericote hard in every aspect to ensure the buildings fit into the local environment.

And he said Bericote remain "committed" to working collaboratively with the council and the community.

In order to facilitate this, Bericote will appoint a community liaison officer as soon as construction of the unit begins.

Ms Musker told the committee any potential impact on residents and surrounding areas has been "mitigated and minimised".

Nearby resident Janet Barton told the commitee that the ongoing construction of the scheme has "made her life hell".

Earlier in the meeting, she claimed the quality of the council’s own health impact assessment, which was carried out in 2016, was based on "assumptions and desktop assessments".

She raised concerns residents are being harmed by dust as a result of the development.

Meanwhile, Haydock councillor Martin Bond said a lot of issues that have arisen since work on the scheme began are due to a lack of compliance with conditions from the original outline application.

The Labour councillor said: “I know officers are stretched and I know resources are scarce but compliance with conditions will make life easier for residents.

“I have evidence in front of me now of 6.45am on Saturday morning of work going on at Haydock Lane, right outside people’s front doors, back doors, fences.

“Work starting that time of morning on a Saturday. That sort of thing is unacceptable.

"It’s been going on constantly since they started work there.”

Cllr Bond voted against the two applications, which were both approved following two separate votes.