EXCLUSIVE: Secretary of State allows Prologis’ 5.5 million ft2 DIRFT IV scheme to progress as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP)
On December 17th last year the UK Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government issued a Section 35 Direction regarding developer Prologis’ 5.5 million ft2 Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal IV (DIRFT IV) project recognising it as an NSIP meaning it would require a Development Consent Order rather than having to go through the standard local council planning permission.
By Liza Helps, Property Editor, Logistics Matters
IN ITS request for a Direction sent in November 2025, Prologis wrote that the 605 acre DIRFT IV scheme would comprise a next-generation, rail-served advanced industrial logistics park providing approximately 5.5 million sq ft of floorspace.
A Section 35 directive A Section 35 direction under the Planning Act 2006 is a legal mechanism allowing the UK Secretary of State to classify specific infrastructure projects as ‘nationally significant’, enabling projects that do not meet standard size thresholds to be treated as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs)
Prologis said that DIRFT IV represents the next phase of the nationally significant DIRFT Rail Freight Interchange, expanding the UK’s most successful Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) and one of Europe’s largest inland multimodal logistics hubs, and setting a new benchmark for innovation, sustainability and design excellence in the sector.
In addition Prologis said in its request for a Direction that DIRFT IV would deliver £1 billion of construction investment over ten years; provide over 5,250 direct operational jobs and 2,300 indirect regional jobs, generating £228 million GVA annually; provide around 750 direct and 900 indirect construction jobs annually, providing £195 million in GVA annually from direct and indirect/induced FTE jobs; and generate £32.05 million in annual business rates, with £16.05 million retained locally.
The development will be an expansion of DIRFT III, which was granted development consent in 2014 as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). It will be accessed through the existing DIRFT estate via private road connections, with direct links to DIRFT’s three rail freight terminals providing the opportunity for the continued growth of rail freight and delivering a sustainable modal shift in freight transport, fully aligned with Government objectives for the future of logistics in the UK.
The new warehouses on the scheme will be located across two development plots dissected by the proposed internal circular access road which will connect the site to DIRFT III via two bridges over the M1. The development plots are positioned towards the centre of the site, adjacent to the M1 motorway (with an intervening corridor of landscaping). The development plots will accommodate industrial logistics buildings across defined plateaus, with the buildings designed to accommodate some areas of mezzanines. The buildings will be surrounded by landscaping and substantial areas of open space, including new footpaths, woodland, watercourse enhancements and other habitats.
Over 50% of the proposed site will be occupied by landscape through an extension of Lilbourne Meadows and the creation of Yelvertoft Meadows, delivering recreational and biodiversity benefts with public access.
This approach builds upon the success of DIRFT III, specifically the creation of the 193-acre Lilbourne Meadows Nature Reserve which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants.
Currently Prologis has $10.4 billion of assets under management in the UK across 28 Prologis Parks. The Company’s UK portfolio totals 33.5 million ft2 of logistics facilities, enabling 2.5% of UK GDP to flow through its buildings annually. Over 100,000 people are employed by the businesses operating within its UK portfolio.
