Logicor, an owner, manager and developer of European logistics real estate, has agreed to forward fund a 500,000ft2 distribution warehouse at an advanced manufacturing and logistics park in Derby, East Midlands.
With construction set to begin in early 2024, the development will target EPC ‘A’ and BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification. Sustainability features will include solar panels, LED lighting and air source heat pumps.
Charlie Howard, UK Managing Director at Logicor, said: “Infinity Park Derby fits perfectly with our strategy of further growing our footprint in areas where we know demand for quality real estate continues to outstrip supply.
“We are looking forward to bringing to the market a highly sustainable, well-designed asset that is in a prime location for the UK.”
Logicor says that the facility, throughout construction and once the building is complete, has ‘the potential to create over 1,300 jobs’.
The new warehouse will be built on Infinity Park Derby, which refers to itself as ‘the East Midlands’ premier advanced manufacturing and logistics location’.
The park came about as a result of collaboration between Derby City Council, the Harpur Crewe Estate, Rolls-Royce and Infinity Park Derby LLP – which includes Wilson Bowden Developments and Peveril Securities.
In 2016, Infinity Park Derby was awarded Enterprise Zone status. Enterprise Zones are ‘designated areas across England that provide tax breaks and government support’ in order to boost the local economy through attracting business, consolidating infrastructure and creating jobs.
Current occupiers at the site include Oregon, which specialises in timber frames for construction, and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC). Additionally, the park is home to the Derby Nuclear Skills Academy and Derby City Council’s iHub, a centre for innovation that provides ‘office and workshop space for advanced manufacturing companies and start-up businesses within the transport, engineering and equipment sector’.
It is hoped that Infinity Park Derby could eventually create up to 8,000 jobs.
Located within the so-called ‘Golden Triangle’, the manufacturing and logistics sectors are crucial to employment in Derby. According to 2022 census data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the transportation and storage industry employs 6,000 Derby residents – 4.4% of the city’s employed population.
Meanwhile, the data shows that 22,000 people in Derby work in manufacturing, making up 16.2% of overall jobs. Rolls-Royce and Toyota are amongst the biggest employers in the region, both operating large manufacturing sites in Derbyshire.
Nationwide, the manufacturing sector employs 2.6 million people in the UK and is ranked eighth globally by value of output, according to a Make UK report entitled “UK Manufacturing, The Facts: 2023”.
For more facts and figures on the UK manufacturing sector from the February issue of Logistics Manager, click here!
According to Irwin Mitchell’s “UK City Tracker Report”, produced in partnership with the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) and published in January 2023, a year-on-year increase in the employment level of 0.9% was forecast for Derby by Q4 2023.
Following recent investment in the area including at St. Modwen Logistics’ St. Modwen Park Derby and Clowes Developments’ Stud Brook Business Park and Dove Valley Park, manufacturing and logistics looks to continue to be key aspect of the city’s economy in the near future.
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