Birmingham property agent Eagleton & Co is confident that the huge investment in commercial vehicle fleets “must have a direct spin-off into the distribution property sector”.
The latest statistics by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal that the number of new commercial vehicles registered in the first five months of this year were 11.2% up on the same period in 2002.
The property agent says that Birch Coppice Business Park, the 400-acre distribution park alongside the M42’s J10, has seen a recent letting because of the growth in light commercial vehicles – they increased more than 80% over last year mainly because of the growth in Internet home shopping deliveries for the major supermarket chains.
Fleet operator Via Solutions has taken a 930sq m industrial unit at the Birch Coppice Business Park, where it will manage 3,000 refrigerated vehicles on behalf of supermarkets. Mike Eagleton, of Eagleton & Co, comments: “Via Solutions’ decision was based on the good access provided by Birch Coppice, and the fact that it is located close to Via’s existing premises in Tamworth.”
The £3M reinstatement of a former mineral railway into Birch Coppice providing a rail link into a 40-acre distribution hub for TNT Logistics has saved about 8,000 lorry journeys a year, equating to two million miles.
