Warrington
Roman river crossing, medieval market, wire capital from 1775 (170+ years). New Town 1968; population doubled. M6/M62/M56 junction makes it a logistics hub. Top 10 UK for active businesses.
Warrington exists because the Romans needed to cross the Mersey. The lowest bridging point on the river became a settlement that grew into a market town by medieval times—and into a manufacturing powerhouse during the Industrial Revolution.
Wire made Warrington. The first wire works opened in 1775, producing brass wire for pins. By the 19th century, wire manufacturing dominated employment for over 170 years. The town produced wire rope, fencing, springs, and industrial wire that built the British Empire's infrastructure. Nationalization in 1967 under British Steel Corporation began the decline; Sheffield gained the wire business, and changing economics of the 1980s accelerated closures.
New Town designation in 1968 brought reinvention. The former Royal Ordnance Factory at Risley became Birchwood development; population more than doubled to over 210,000 by 2021. The town's position at the crux of the Liverpool-Manchester motorway system—where M6, M62, and M56 meet—made it a logistics hub.
Today Warrington has a thriving economy, low unemployment, and high GVA. It ranks in the UK's top ten for active businesses. The Omega Development Site and Time Square regeneration (completed 2020 at £142 million) represent continuing investment. Sellafield Ltd maintains offices here for nuclear decommissioning work; the town balances logistics, distribution, and technology sectors.
By 2026, Warrington tests whether a town built on wire and reinvented through planning can sustain growth as a logistics node.