Industrial real estate developer, Prologis, has gained planning permission for a new £150m ($232m) logistics park at Appleby Lodge in Wellingborough, UK. The 186,000 square metre site will be developed in phases and feature a range of large-format, energy-efficient facilities.
A spokesperson for the company told Automotive Logistics that it was too early to be specific about which sectors are likely to take space at the site, but said it was possible that the park will attract companies in the automotive logistics sector.
The parks planned location in the East Midlands is close to the UK’s traditional manufacturing and supply base in the West Midlands. A study published this week by the Ernst & Young UK Goods Export Monitor has predicted strong growth for the Midlands region, led by automotive strength. Exports from the West Midlands are forecasted to grow more than 8% between 2012 and 2017, and 6% in the East Midlands, with the automotive supply chain driving the increases.
Prologis said that all the buildings would be built to achieve high environmental and energy efficiency ratings.
“There is a shortage of Grade A logistics accommodation in the East Midlands, so it is very good news that the Council has granted planning permission for Appleby Lodge,” said James Wright, vice-president at Prologis. “We are progressing the technical work so that we can deliver the site to meet customer requirements and we will start marketing the first phase of the development soon.”
Prologis is now working on detailed design and technical proposals for the planning applications that will be submitted shortly to the Borough Council of Wellingborough.
