A controversial plan to remove the requirement for a rail freight link to the Protos waste-to-energy site near Ince, Cheshire, has been approved. It effectively ends hopes of a rail-served multimodal terminal for the region. Campaigners and councillors have described the decision as a setback for sustainable transport policy and a blow to local communities already facing HGV congestion.
A long-running proposal to establish a rail freight terminal at the Protos energy and resource park in Cheshire has been scrapped after Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) voted to remove the requirement for a rail connection to the site. The decision, taken by the planning committee on Tuesday, 7 October, went six votes to three in favour of Peel NRE’s application to delete the rail condition — effectively freeing the developer from a £15 million commitment to build the terminal. Peel NRE is part of the ports to property Peel Group.
Council split over sustainability and road traffic
The decision overturns a key condition attached to the original planning consent, which required that the site be developed as a multimodal facility, taking advantage of both rail and canal access. That stipulation was imposed when the project was first approved at appeal by the Secretary of State. The CWAC planning committee considered two linked applications from Peel NRE — one to remove a Section 106 clause requiring the delivery of a rail facility, and another to lift a planning condition preventing further development until that rail link was in place. Both were approved.
Councillor Chris Copeman, who spoke against the applications, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome. “This goes against national and local plans to reduce road traffic and carbon emissions,” he told RailFreight.com. “Peel committed to a multimodal site, yet the council has now approved a development that could mean one HGV [Heavy Goods Vehicle] every minute or two on our local roads — without the option of transferring freight to rail.” Copeman warned that the decision would increase traffic through nearby Helsby, Frodsham and Elton, and would contradict the council’s own Local Plan and active travel policies.
Developer cites “lack of demand” for rail
Peel NRE, part of the Peel Land Group, argued that the condition was preventing investment in the next phase of remediation and redevelopment of the site, a former extensive fertiliser factory. The company said there was no demand for a rail-served waste terminal and that ten logistics operators had declined to operate the facility. They did not specify who the ten operators were.
“Despite over a decade of marketing, there has been no interest in building, operating or using the rail link,” Peel said in a statement. “The waste industry has changed significantly since consent was first granted, with more local treatment options and shorter transport distances. The condition to deliver rail is now a barrier to economic growth.” Peel maintains that removing the rail condition will not increase HGV movements beyond the existing consented limit of 718 trips per day. The developer said the change would unlock new investment, enabling low-carbon businesses such as battery recycling, glass reprocessing and alternative fuel production to locate on the site.
Rail freight advocates question “short-term logic”
Critics, however, say Peel’s justification ignores long-term sustainability goals and existing infrastructure. The nearby branch line, used by freight services to the Encirc glassworks, runs within a few hundred metres of the Protos site. “The connection already exists,” said Copeman, referring to the original development proposal. “Building a rail spur would have been straightforward compared with most new connections. This was a unique opportunity to promote rail over road.”
It is understandable that Peel made the point that feedstocks may well be delivered by the truck load. However, a case may be made, that finished products could be dispatched by the train load. Industry observers have also noted that the UK Government’s 2023 Freight Growth Target calls for a 75% increase in rail freight by 2050. “Local authorities and developers should be supporting that vision,” said Copeman. “Instead, this decision locks Protos into a road-based future.”
Peel presses ahead with wider redevelopment
Peel recently acquired the neighbouring 134-acre former CF Fertilisers site at Ince, which it plans to redevelop alongside Protos as part of a wider low-carbon industrial hub. The company says the expansion will bring £86 million in local investment and up to 180 long-term jobs.
Despite those benefits, the removal of the rail freight element has raised concerns among rail industry groups and environmental campaigners. With 718 daily HGV movements already permitted, opponents fear the loss of the rail connection will undermine both local net-zero commitments and national freight growth objectives.
As Copeman concluded after the meeting: “This decision sends the wrong signal about sustainability and transport planning. Rail freight should be central to developments like Protos — not written out of the plan.”