Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Manchester Airports Group seek planning permission for new manufacturing park

Manchester Airports Group is seeking planning permission to turn land near East Midlands Airport into a new hi-tech logistics and manufacturing park as part of the East Midlands Freeport.

It relates to a site just south of the A453 alongside the airport, and if approved could result in more than 2,000 new jobs once fully operational and employ up to 174 people during a two-year construction period.

It’s estimated the new development could contribute up to £132m per year in GVA to the East Midlands economy, along with almost £9m in additional annual business rates contributions.

The land has been designated a tax site as part of East Midlands Freeport to help attract new investment and jobs to the region. The draft local plan also identifies it as a potential location for strategic distribution, located in the heart of the country close to the M1 and major road network, the UK’s number one dedicated cargo airport, and the East Midlands Gateway rail freight hub and logistics park – all within what’s known as the UK’s logistics ‘Golden Triangle.’

The plans laid before North West Leicestershire District Council describe the outline proposals as several units up to 25m tall, providing up to 135,000 square metres of floorspace for general industrial and storage or distribution uses, along with offices. The largest units would be located closest to the A453, with smaller units along the southern end of the site. This would help towards meeting a need identified by North West Leicestershire District Council for 2.5m square metres of additional warehousing in the area by 2041.

EMA’s MD Steve Griffiths said: “This is a prime site for a development of this kind, given its proximity to major road and rail networks and the UK’s number one express air cargo hub. Given its status as a Freeport tax site, we are confident that if approved, we will have little difficulty in attracting businesses, bringing much-needed jobs to the region during its construction and operation.

“The proposals we have submitted to the council outline how we have carefully considered the opportunities and constraints of the site, seeking to strike the balance between the need for such a development against the potential impact on the environment and local residents. We have met and will continue to meet members of Diseworth Parish Council and community groups and have aimed to address their concerns in our proposals.”

Tom Newman-Taylor, Chief Exec of East Midlands Freeport, said: “Our mission is to act as a catalyst for economic regeneration across the East Midlands to create thousands of jobs boosting skills for local workers, and accelerating the region’s commitment to decarbonisation through sustainable development and low-carbon energy investments.

“We support moves by our key partners to develop the Freeport’s strategically important sites which offer unparalleled connectivity to the rest of the UK. We also welcome the consultation the airport has carried out with the local community and the steps they have taken to address their concerns as part of the process.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our news site - please take a moment to read this important message:

As you know, our aim is to bring you, the reader, an editorially led news site and magazine but journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having a major impact on our industry as a whole, the advertising revenues we normally receive, which helps us cover the cost of our journalists and this website, have been drastically affected.

As such we need your help. If you can support our news sites/magazines with either a small donation of even £1, or a subscription to our magazine, which costs just £33.60 per year, (inc p&P and mailed direct to your door) your generosity will help us weather the storm and continue in our quest to deliver quality journalism.

As a subscriber, you will have unlimited access to our web site and magazine. You'll also be offered VIP invitations to our events, preferential rates to all our awards and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Just click here to subscribe and in the meantime may I wish you the very best.









Latest news

Related news

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close