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Work is progressing on Gateway Peterborough, Roxhill’s new 240 acre warehousing and distribution park in Cambridgeshire.
The Yearsley Group and GeoPost are the first occupiers of Gateway Peterborough, which is strategically located immediately adjacent to junction 17 of the A1(M) in Peterborough.
Work on GeoPost’s unit for their new sorting facility started in August 2013. Employees from GeoPost’s existing site on Saville Road will relocate to the new site once complete. Work is expected to finish at the end of February 2014, coinciding with the Gateway Peterborough site being officially opened to the public. Gateway Peterborough is a greenfield site with planning consent, which means that buildings can be delivered in just six months.
The Yearsley Group completed the purchase of their 20 acre plot on the site at the beginning of November and will start building their cold store unit during 2014. Yearsley’s move will create 300 jobs for the local economy.
The second phase of full-site infrastructure construction is underway, and is expected to be completed in June 2014. The first phase of development included the construction of Forli Strada – the main dual carriageway onto the site – which was completed in 2012.
Charles Blake, Development Director for Roxhill Developments, said: ‘We’ve already hit some key milestones over the last 12 months – completing the first stage of infrastructure on site, the new dual carriageway, Forli Strada, and welcoming our first occupiers GeoPost and Yearsley.
‘News that work will begin early next year to increase the capacity of the Fletton Parkway and Junction 17 of the A1(M), coupled with the announcement in the Autumn Statement that the Government’s plans for an A14 toll have been axed, will provide a welcome and positive boost to the local economy. Enhancing these already important road connections will make Gateway Peterborough even more attractive to new occupiers.
‘We hope to be in a position to announce new occupiers taking advantage of this excellent opportunity in the near future.’
Gateway Peterborough is capable of accommodating buildings of up to 1.3 million sq ft, and, when completed, will total 5 million sq ft of development. The site has planning permission for B1, B2 and B8 uses, as well as provision for a hotel and a pub or restaurant.
Peterborough is an established distribution and manufacturing location boasting unrivalled transport links and a central location. The A1(M) provides a strategic North-South link and the nearby A14 provides an East-West link to Felixstowe or into the Midlands.
Peterborough is one of the fastest growing cities in the UK, both in terms of population and economy. The site is part of Peterborough’s Core Strategy, and its development is helping the city to reach its aspiration of creating 25,000 new jobs by 2026. Once fully occupied it is hoped that Gateway Peterborough will create 8,000 jobs.