Stobart’s shift to Widnes moves another step closer

Jul 9 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

STOBART haulage group has withdrawn its plans to redevelop Carlisle Airport in a move that could pave the way for hundreds of jobs to move to Cheshire.

The company, which employs hundreds of people in Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn, wants to consolidate its Cumbrian operations at the airport as part of the site’s redevelopment plans.

Stobart chief executive Andrew Tinkler has warned that, if the scheme did not happen quickly, he would move many of the group’s Carlisle jobs to Widnes.

But the airport plans were last month called in to a public inquiry, meaning a decision could be more than a year away.

Separate company Stobart Air, of which Mr Tinkler is chairman, has now withdrawn its planning application for the airport and will instead try to submit another planning application to get it approved more quickly.

But if a compromise cannot be reached in six months then the Stobart Group, which runs the famous Eddie Stobart lorry fleet, may be forced to transfer jobs to Cheshire where it has additional space.

Mr Tinkler said he could not understand why the Government Office for the North West (GONW) has called in the airport application when it has been approved by local planners.

Mr Tinkler, who has already spent £1.5m on the airport plans, said he will now work out whether there is a way of saving the scheme.

Yesterday, he said: “At the outset, we have been very clear that the development plans would not go ahead if the application was called in. We did everything in our power to go through correct process and undertook extensive consultation with all stakeholders.

“We have had no choice in withdrawing the application, as we are still not clear on the real reasons why the application was called in. The GONW is citing ‘matters of greater than local importance’ but we fail to understand what these matters are.”

Stobart employs around 500 people in and around Warrington and owns haulage firm O’Connor Group, in Widnes. It also owns Runcorn’s Port of Weston.

In April, Mr Tinkler told the Daily Post that if the Carlisle scheme was abandoned then the group’s headquarters could easily be moved to Widnes, where it is developing the £80m Mersey Multimodal Gateway project.

He said: “If the airport doesn’t come off, then it’s quite easy for us to move all the HQ down to Widnes.”

Mr Tinkler said yesterday that the group now had a “six-month window of opportunity to safeguard jobs” and said he was keen to work with the GONW.

alistairhoughton