Massive Jaguar Land Rover warehouse complex near Ashby poised for green light

Plans for a massive Jaguar Land Rover parts distribution complex on farmland near Ashby could get the green light next week.North West Leicestershire District Council planners have recommended that councillors approve the 2.9m sq ft scheme off junction 11 of the M42, near Appleby Magna.A vote will take place at a September 3 planning meeting.West Midlands-based JLR wants to have five units on the site – including two that would be 1 million sq ft in size – to store parts prior to shipment to retailers in UK, North and South America, Europe, Africa and much of Asia.It will also act as a master site for a big distribution centre in Shanghai.JLR has not said how many jobs it would create but it would replace 10 warehouses – including main sites in Desford, Leicestershire, at Bagington in Coventry and Honeybourne, near Stratford – which employ around 1,200 staff.North West Leicestershire District Council said there had been a “significant number” of objections, including from 16 local parish councils as well as North Warwickshire Borough Council.But officers have said there was “strong evidence” of an “immediate need” for the development.There have been letters of objection about the height of the buildings and area covered by the site, the impact on the local environment, carbon emissions, the loss of farming land, light pollution and increased traffic.Hinckley and Bosworth MP David Tredinnick said he was opposing the plans along with Market Bosworth county councillor Ivan Ould and North Warwickshire MP Craig Tracey.Supporters have included Kevin Harris, chairman of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.JLR would lease the site from property developer IM Properties, taking the lion’s share of 3.6 million sq ft of warehousing the developer wants to erect on the 238 acre farmland site.IM Properties has previously said the overall £350 million distribution park – with buildings ranging in size from 200,000 sq ft up to 1 million sq ft – could create up to 3,000 jobs.A Jaguar Land Rover spokeswoman said “centralising and streamlining” its UK-based global spare parts business would lead to “huge efficiencies”.If it gets the go-ahead, work could start next spring with the first unit ready in May, 2021.Kevin Ashfield, UK development director at IM Properties, said there were “very few sites” in the UK which could deliver such a scale of development in the right location for Jaguar Land Rover.