CONSTRUCTION work is underway at the St Helens Omega Business Site, after final details of the multi-unit project were submitted last week.

Plans for Omega West, located on the boundary of St Helens and Warrington, were approved by Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove last year.

The plans include the development of four units on the green belt land in Bold, with planning consent permitted for Home Bargains to turn one of the units into a distribution centre.

St Helens Star: A Home Bargains distribution centre will take up unit one of the Omega West site (Picture: St Helens Council Planning Portal)A Home Bargains distribution centre will take up unit one of the Omega West site (Picture: St Helens Council Planning Portal) (Image: St Helens Council Planning Portal)

After clearing the final planning hurdle last November, construction work is now underway to create the distribution centre which is planned to bring more than 1,000 jobs to the borough.

A reserved matters application has been submitted to seek consent for the delivery of unit two at Omega, with the "potential to create 1,000 new jobs".

Further applications for the delivery of units three and four are expected later in the year.

St Helens Star: Planning applications for unit two (Picture: St Helens Council Planning Portal)Planning applications for unit two (Picture: St Helens Council Planning Portal)

When initially submitted, the Omega West proposals met opposition and faced a public inquiry last year due to building on green belt land.

Howver, in addition to the employment opportunities offered by the plans, St Helens Council promises other key features as part of the project.

These include:

  • A 17 acre ‘Green Wedge’ planted to provide biodiversity mitigation and ecological enhancements 
  • Almost £2m in developer contributions to improve Bold Forest Park as a priority area.   
  • £750,000 for better bus connections between St Helens and Omega West 
  • Improved pedestrian and cycling routes within and nearby the site  

St Helens Star: The units will be built on green belt land in Bold, on the border of Warrington (Picture: St Helens Council Planning Portal)The units will be built on green belt land in Bold, on the border of Warrington (Picture: St Helens Council Planning Portal)

Commenting on a recent site visit, Councillor Richard McCauley, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning, said: 

 “This project will bring in vital jobs that will make a lasting positive impact to so many of our residents’ lives.

“When I spoke at the planning inquiry, I mentioned the fact that TJ Morris, the group behind Home Bargains, had said they would support communities like Bold and Thatto Heath which are close to this site and focus their recruitment for those who are out of work in those areas – and they’ve already invested heavily in our borough, becoming the new principal shirt sponsors of Saints.  

"With so much happening now in the way of regeneration projects, these are really exciting times for the borough. We promised sustainable inclusive growth with new jobs and that’s exactly what we’re delivering.”  

Home Bargains is expected to be operational in 2024.