Developer St. Modwen has submitted plans to speculatively build three new, high-quality units at its 10.8-acre site in Poole, Dorset.
If granted, construction on units of 43,377 sq ft, 53,701 sq ft and 98,853 sq ft will begin in April 2020, with St. Modwen expecting to welcome occupiers to the scheme as early as February 2021 – less than two years after acquiring the site.
St. Modwen Park Poole is strategically located, with both the town centre and local railway station half a mile to the south of the site. The site also benefits from a number of nearby amenities due to its close proximity to Wessex Gate Retail Park and a nearby Premier Inn hotel.
The proposed development would be adjacent to the A350, providing access to the main A35 regional route and making the site an ideal location for distribution and manufacturing companies looking to base themselves at the heart of a conurbation with a population of approximately 400,000.
David McGougan, Senior Development Manager at St. Modwen Industrial & Logistics, said: “Poole forms a key part of our strategy and we aim to bring a substantial amount of investment, opportunity and employment to the local area. The scheme has a development value of £30 million and is a key milestone in our industrial and logistics pipeline.”
Marketing agents for the site, Steve Williams of Realest and Nick Tutton of CBRE, added: “St. Modwen’s progress from acquiring the site, to requesting planning and starting construction inside 12 months demonstrates its clear confidence in the industrial and logistics market. Once delivered, St. Modwen Park Poole will provide buildings of a size that are just not available currently and we expect this scheme to attract significant interest from potential occupiers.”
At the time of the acquisition in April, Tim Seddon, Property Director (South East) at St. Modwen, said: “St. Modwen Park Poole will be a significant development in the region and a key local employment site. This latest move reinforces our commitment to the sector, creating high-quality space for customers and delivering on our strategy of significantly growing our UK portfolio by up to 2 million sq ft annually. While we have a significant existing UK industrial and logistics land portfolio to develop, we are very prepared to target acquisitions which will boost the geographic diversity of our portfolio and deliver more immediate income.”
