Local Plan reveals 10 sites for logistics development

By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters

THE CALL for sites across the county saw 369 sites put forward 235 were for housing, 49 pure commercial sites, 74 mixed development including housing and employment uses. Of these 12 were considered strategic sites capable of accommodating more than 3,000 homes or more than 1.29 million ft2 of commercial space.

In total 177 sites were rejected as not passing fundamental constraints or LAA assessment or were deemed unsuitable. Of the 192 considered potentially suitable for development the council  has calculated that  these could provide some 53,134 homes and more than 30 million ft2 of employment space with a further 270 acres of employment land with no floorspace capacity allocated.

Of the 10 strategic sites along the A1 Newlands Development is promoting several sites; a 220-acre site known as A1 West North, a 150 acre site known as A1West (South) which combined could provide up to 4.5 million ft2 of industrial and logistics space off the A1 at Junction 17 near Peterborough as well as a 103 acre site at Hinchingbrooke off the A141 that could provide up to 1.85 million ft2 of industrial and logistics space.

While there are a lots of sites contending, only a few will go forward to be adopted in the local plan.

Huntingdonshire Economic Growth Plan 2020-2025 recognises that the logistics sector has been one of the top 5 fastest growing sectors within the UK and that there is a need to embrace sustainable opportunities that support long-term, good jobs growth within this sector and for the district. There are no strategic-scale employment sites currently available within Huntingdonshire’s administrative area.