WORK is set to soon begin on a commercial site as part of a garden village development project.

The Tritax Symmetry development at Halsnead Garden Village, near Whiston, will create new commercial space on the site of the former Cronton Colliery.

With site preparation works nearing completion work is now scheduled to fully commence next month on the major new employment site.

The Symmetry Park development will create hundreds of new jobs and provide a significant annual boost to the local economy, it is said.

Once complete Halsnead Garden Village will become the largest combined housing and employment site in the city region.

The development of Halsnead Garden Village has been supported with funding of more than £16 million from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The employment element of Halsnead Garden Village is on land previously occupied by Cronton Colliery, to the south of the M62. 

The Tritax Symmetry development will breathe new life into a site that has been largely unused since the colliery’s closure in 1984.

Symmetry Park, which received planning consent in March 2022, will realise a multi-million-pound investment in the logistics and advanced manufacturing sectors.

The development will also include parking facilities for a new 28-hectare country park on the former Colliery site.

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Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley Council cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said: “These are exciting times for the Halsnead Garden Village development, with the first of the new homes now opened and ready to welcome residents and work set to get underway at the employment site. Symmetry Park will create a significant number of jobs once complete and also generate significant employment in its construction. This will provide a major boost to the borough’s economy as a whole.”

Steve Rotheram, metro mayor of the Liverpool City Region, added: "To tackle the housing crisis, it’s vital that we build a good mix of new housing. In building thousands of new, high quality homes, attracting businesses, and creating hundreds of jobs, Halsnead Garden Village is not only a significant development for Knowsley – but for the entire city region.

“Devolution has given us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in the projects that matter most to our residents, and will leave a positive, lasting impact in their lives. We are showing the difference that real levelling-up can have on our communities through schemes like Halsnead Garden Village, which is undergoing nothing short of a transformation.

“Across the Liverpool City Region, we are injecting new life into spaces that have so much latent potential for us to unlock and turning once-forgotten sites back into thriving community hubs. This is an incredibly exciting project for Knowsley, and I can’t wait to see this vision brought to life!”

David Nuttall, development director at Tritax Symmetry, said: “With a severe shortage of commercial space available across the North West, we have been working closely with Knowsley Council and the project team to bring this scheme to site. We have strong interest from businesses which want to take space at Symmetry Park and we are confident that lettings will be secured prior to completion.”