BREAKING NEWS: Marq Logistics seeks 3 million ft2 plus extension to Magna Park Lutterworth
Marq Logistics is seeking to extend its 16 million ft2 UK flagship industrial and logistics scheme Magna Park Lutterworth by a further 3.23 million ft2.
By Liza Helps, Property Editor, Logistics Matters
THE DEVELOPER is currently seeking an Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Opinion with Harborough Council to bring forward a circa.300 acre plot to the north of Magna Park on the edge of Lutterworth, immediately to the east of Junction 20 of the M1 motorway with a view to submitting a hybrid planning application later this year for up to 3.23 million ft2 of industrial and logistics space.
Since the original Magna Park development was granted planning permission in 1987, the surrounding area has evolved into a strategic national hub for distribution and logistics operations, subsequent expansions have continued to shape the local context. The southern extension (Magna Park South) received outline planning permission in July 2018 and has since been fully developed. The northern expansion (Magna Park North) was granted hybrid permission in April 2019, with six of the eight approved plots now completed.
As part of this phase, the 200-acre Bittesby Country Park, has been created to provide new green infrastructure and recreational space within Magna Park. The site in question benefits from a draft allocation in the emerging Local Plan for strategic B8.
According to the documents prepared by planning company ICENI Group: “The evidence base supporting the emerging Local Plan identifies a significant and growing need for strategic logistics (B8) floorspace across Leicester and Leicestershire. The Warehousing and Logistics in Leicester and Leicestershire Study (2021) identified a requirement for approximately 2.6 million sqm [circa 28 million ft2] of additional strategic B8 floorspace by 2041. This demand has since increased, with the 2024 Strategic B8 Needs Sensitivity Report, published by HDC [the council] to inform the emerging Local Plan, identifying an updated requirement of between 3.8 and 5.1 million sqm [circa 41 – 55 million ft2] of additional strategic B8 floorspace across the sub-region. This reinforces Harborough District’s continuing role as a key location for strategic distribution and logistics development, particularly around Magna Park, Lutterworth.
Marq Logistics is looking at a phased development for the site to include industrial and logistics space as well as the potential for a Travelling Showpeople site; an extension to Bittesby Country Park, a visitor centre and café, as well as a police facility.
Marq Logistics expects the whole scheme to take some four years to construct with a start sought in 2027 with first occupation by 2029 and the extension to be fully operational by December 2031.
