Permission granted for major commercial development near motorway

Planning consent has been granted for 824,000 sq ft of industrial warehouse space on land next to Markham Vale, off junction 29A of the M1.

St Francis Group, a property development and investment group and an expert in brownfield regeneration together with joint venture partners iSec, have announced details of the development, which will comprise five warehouses.

The brownfield site intended for the buildings has been unused since the Coalite works closed over a decade ago. But iSec and St Francis Group will start ground works immediately to make plots ready for development. Occupiers could move into the industrial warehouse and manufacturing spaces from the second quarter of 2021.

A second application seeking outline consent for an additional 500,000 sq ft in two units on adjoining land has also been submitted by the developers to North East Derbyshire District Council.

At 1.32 million sq ft the entire scheme is destined to play a key role in the expanding logistics market, based on increasing demand from e-commerce channels.

The developers, together with community leaders, want to make sure the business park provides a broad range of jobs across the manufacturing and technology sectors. They expect the scheme to stimulate fresh inward investment in the area, boosting the local economy.

It is also planned to upgrade the surrounding road network, with significant improvement works planned for Buttermilk Lane likely to start early next year.

Gareth Williams, development director at St Francis Group, said: “It is well documented that there are significant levels of pent up demand across the region and indeed the UK for high quality industrial units as businesses look to expand or relocate.

“A considerable amount of time and effort has gone into ensuring this development will meet the very high standards expected by today’s occupiers. The units will sit in a high-quality environment only minutes from the M1”.

Following a formal launch early next year, marketing will target occupiers looking for buildings built to meet specific requirements. iSec and St Francis Group have instructed Knight Frank and CBRE as sole joint letting agents.