Plans in for industrial and manufacturing park at Freeport

Outline plans for an industrial and manufacturing park at Goole Freeport South have been lodged by developer HBD and St Johns College Cambridge.The proposed development could create more than 5.5 million sq ft of space adjacent to Junction 36 of the M62 and close to Goole Docks.The site could accommodate buildings from 40,000 to one million sq ft.Spanning 300-acres, the site forms part of the Goole Freeport Tax Site, which has already been officially designated following review and approval by the Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Businesses situated within the tax site are set to benefit from a range of financial advantages, including business rate and stamp duty land tax relief and national insurance support designed to reduce employment costs.Suzie Wood, investment property manager at St Johns College, said: “The College is delighted to be working with HBD on the delivery of this important industrial and logistics opportunity. As a strategic landowner we are committed to bringing forward this significant and exciting employment site.”Having secured Freeport designation and submitted an outline planning application, we will be looking over the coming months at a programme for delivering the corresponding infrastructure in order to respond to occupier requirements.”Vivienne Clements, executive director at HBD, part of Henry Boot, added: “There are few sites across the UK with 300-acres of prime development land, freeport status, motorway and port access and a strong local skills base. It has huge potential to deliver an employment scheme that will attract significant inward investment and create hundreds of new jobs. We look forward to working alongside St John’s College to bring the development forward.”HBD’s current committed industrial and logistics pipeline comprises 6.6 million sq ft of space across the UK, having previously brought forward 4.4 million sq ft during the last five years.Richard Sullivan, national head of industrial and logistics at Savills, added: “The fact that the site has already been designated Freeport status is a hugely positive step when it comes to securing planning consent. Furthermore, given its significant size and scale, there is the potential to deliver buildings up to one million sq ft in a prominent location immediately off Junction 36 of the M62.”The scheme will also offer flexibility to accommodate a wide range of industrial and logistics related requirements, which, coupled with a range of Freeport benefits and incentives, makes this a very attractive and largely unique offer in the East Yorkshire region.”