Maybe it doesn’t shout a lot about itself, maybe its overshadowed by its adjoining port facilities, or maybe its just getting on with its job, whatever the reason DP World’s London Gateway Logistics Park is somewhat of a hidden gem. And it has certainly changed a lot from my first visit over a decade ago – for starters there’s 4.4 million ft2 of logistics space up and mostly occupied by the likes of DHL (for Mars), UPS, Curry’s, Oasis  – perhaps they know something the rest of us don’t?

 

LG200, London Gateway, Thurrock SS17 9DY

Development type: Speculative

Owner/Developer: DP World

Letting Agents: Glenny, Savills and CBRE

Unit size: 200,424 ft2

Power: up to 1MvA

Sustainability: BREEAM Outstanding and EPC A

 

It’s been well established that Tia the Lab(rador) Assistant and I got misdirected and landed up in the actual Port  – note to self don’t follow the sat nav follow the actual signage!

That being said, getting an up-front and personal view of the ease and efficiency with which HGVs, containers etc, are moved and directed was fascinating. Roughly there are 3,600 individual HGV movements in and out of the 12 gate lanes each day with an average turnaround time of a mere 45 minutes – it truly is something to behold.

 

So too, was LG200, even if it was slightly tucked away: another hidden gem. The facility which has a BREEAM Outstanding score putting it in the top 1% of new non-domestic developments, is all one would expect.

The warehouse space with its 18m eaves height even without lights on was bright and airy with its 15% roof light coverage.

Currently  dock and level access doors are on one side of the building, but it does have the ability to be cross docked through the use of an adjacent industrial open storage site which can be adapted to provide a further 50m + yard with three dock and two level access doors as well as additional parking.

The warehouse totalling 184,795 ft2 has 18 dock and four level access doors served by a 50 – 54m yard with parking for 40 HGVs – should the expansion land opportunity be taken up the building  could have 360 degree circulation.

Obviously the 18m eaves height really pushes the volumetrics on such a building, comparable with a 15m eaves height, which one would expect on a 200,000 ft2 unit, looking at a standard  racking solution an occupier could  service 20 – 25% more pallet spaces.

The office space is expansive totalling 15,629 ft2 over two floors accessed via stairs or lifts. I liked the lighting in the entrance way – clever in that it ran along the ceiling, wall and floor and useful as well to help people evacuate the building in an emergency – a nifty and well thought out design detail.

At present the property comes with 20% PV panel coverage (though the building is 100% PV ready) which gives an estimated £40,000 per annum energy savings.

Landscaping on the property is immature at present, but there are well-thought-out break areas, and once the full landscaping across the park beds in, the whole scheme will come together. No mean task as the site is extremely flat and windblown as befits an estuary port.

Probably the biggest benefits to be explored at London Gateway has to be the fact that it is a port-side development with all the benefits that occur such as direct access to the 35 weekly services connecting to more than 110 global shipping routes and more than 90 global ports. There are two intermodal rail services connecting London Gateway to iPort Doncaster and Hams Hall in the Midlands. And the port continues to grow with £1 billion of new investment bringing forward two new berths to add to the four currently operational.

 

Being part of the Thames Freeport is yet another added bonus with  typical potential savings on LG200 equivalent to 18 months rent free. Benefits include duty deferral, as well as 100% business rates relief for up to five years, stamp duty relief and national insurance relief as well as enhanced capital allowances.

Hosts Tom Gosden and Ellie Wale gave me a sneak peak of DP World’s The Hive a stunningly designed £13 million amenities innovation and training hub building which will anchor the whole scheme as a community – I was particularly taken with the Paddle court – but it was the care and attention design detail that was most impressive.

It will act as a training centre providing more than 100 days of industrial and employability skills programmes each year and supporting around 1,125 trainees annually across the Freeport.

The Hive will host simulators (being shipped in from Canada) for crane driver training, training for working at height and have VR technology for broader careers activities.

The well appointed amenity space which includes a gym, multiuse games area as well as the paddle court also provides meeting rooms, training rooms and café allowing on-site employees and businesses  to connect and collaborate.

It really cannot get much better  as an overall logistics scheme – the only issue is after being a hidden gem in the Southeast for so long have I now let the cat out of the bag?? (Sorry Tia it had to be said…)