Construction starts on UK’s largest speculative warehouse
Construction has stared on the UK’s largest speculative warehouse, the 915,000 ft2 plus Unit S915 at Panattoni’s 370-acre Panattoni Park Swindon in the Southwest by contractor Winvic.
By Liza Helps, Property Editor, Logistics Matters
THIS IS the second phase of works for the contractor at the Swindon site and will see it build a 916,982 ft2 cross dock facility comprising a 890,444 ft2 warehouse with 21m eaves and 125 dock and eight level access doors served by yards of up to 115m. In addition, the facility will have 240 trailer spaces. There will be 24,310 ft2 of Grade A office space which includes a 1,928 ft2 entrance area and hub offices totalling 5,295 ft2. There is a separate 300 ft2 gatehouse and car park for 700 plus cars.
Practical completion for the BREEAM Excellent and EPC A+ unit is set for Q1 2026. It will be delivered to a Net Zero Carbon in Construction standard (aligned with the UK Green Building Council 2019 Framework Definition).
As well as a 7.3Mva power supply the building will feature a PV roof-mounted array capable of providing 315kwh/year at base build with potential to increase.
Phase two follows the successful completion of phase one which involved major demolition and site-wide infrastructure works, including the removal of the former Honda car manufacturing facility decommissioned in 2021. Running from February until September 2024, the initial programme included the demolition of over 15 buildings.
Additional works involved extensive earthworks of approximately 800,000 cubic metres to create development plateaus. Winvic also delivered critical infrastructure including foul and stormwater drainage systems, estate road construction, site wide utilities, highway access alterations and strategic footpaths and cycleways.
Circularity has been a key focus of the scheme, with on-site recycling of 6F2 aggregate and a balanced earthworks strategy significantly reducing vehicle movements and associated environmental impact. Additionally, demolition materials have been recycled, helping to minimise waste sent to landfill and supporting a more sustainable construction approach.
Joint agents on the scheme are Savills and DTRE.
