Major development opportunities to keep an eye on in the Midlands and East
Camro
Location Ely, Cambridgeshire
Size 16ha (40 acres) 40 acres (potential 20ha expansion subject to planning)
Value £800m-plus GDV (dependent on end user)
Development potential 6.5ha data campus
Planning status Outline planning plus detailed for initial phase
Investment type/opportunity Purchase, design and build for an owner-occupier, investor, or jv
Project time frame Start September 2018; complete March 2020
Ambition “With planning consent for up to 6.5ha and power already available on site, Camro is designed to deliver flexible data centre solutions as a modular technology campus. The scalable and adaptable solutions will provide cost effective and energy efficient space with capacity available when it is needed, located right at the heart of the leading high-tech centre in the UK and Europe in Cambridge.”
Nelson Quay
Location King’s Lynn, Norfolk
Size 5ha
Value £120m GDV
Development potential 436 homes
Planning status Master plan approved
Investment type/opportunity Equity partner or development partner
Project time frame Planning application due to be submitted in 2018
Ambition “King’s Lynn riverfront becomes a vibrant river-edge quarter threaded into the fabric of the existing town.”
UK central hub and HS2 interchange
Location Solihull, West Midlands
Size 1,300ha
Value £2bn-plus
Development potential 77.5ha of commercial space, 4,000 homes
Planning status Proposed within Solihull Draft Local Plan
Investment type/opportunity Equity investor, developer, and development funder
Project time frame Phase 1 (2017-2022) includes enabling works, first phases of development and estimated £925m of infrastructure investment with further growth planned in five-year tranches
Ambition “The arrival of HS2 will undoubtedly change the economic landscape of the United Kingdom. In particular, the development of the UK Central Hub Solihull, and the creation of the first interchange outside London, represents a huge opportunity for economic growth that will ensure the continued prosperity of this part of the Midlands.”
Birmingham Paradise
Location Birmingham, West Midlands
Size 2.8ha (7 acres)
Value £550m (Phases 2 and 3)
Development potential Phase 2 – One Centenary Way, a circa 27,000 sq m office building, plus retail/restaurant space; four-star-plus 250-bed hotel and Three Chamberlain Square, 13,000 sq m of grade-A offices / retail. Phase 3 – circa 65,000 sq m of grade-A office and ground floor retail space in five buildings, and a new large public square
Planning status Phase 1 – Under way and fully consented.
Investment type/opportunity Development partner or funder.
Project time frame Phase 2 – start on site late 2018, completion late 2021.
Ambition “The most important city centre development in the UK outside London. Paradise is to be transformed into a vibrant mixed-use development of commercial, civic, retail, leisure and hotel space, providing major improvements to pedestrian access and greatly enhanced public realm befitting this exemplary historic setting. Paradise will be one of the biggest development schemes Birmingham has seen for a generation and will dramatically transform this whole area of the city.”
MIRA Southern Manufacturing Sector
Location Warwickshire, West Midlands
Size 32.5ha on completion. The Southern Manufacturing Sector (SMS) comprises an additional 36ha (90 acres) which when consented will provide opportunity for about 139,000 sq m (1.5m sq ft) of automotive-related manufacturing space.
Value £150m
Development potential Automotive-related advanced manufacturing facilities, plus related/supply chain facilities.
Planning status Planning consent has been secured for 162,000 sq m (1.75m sq ft) MTP comprising
Investment type/opportunity Preferred option: forward-funding based on an identified occupier.
Ambition “The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s vision is to grow the local economy by 4.05% pa, achieve a GVA pa increase of £15.823bn, and employ an additional 94,500 people by 2030. To meet these targets, the strategic economic plan outlines a supportive environment in which businesses of all sizes grow and prosper, from SMEs to large enterprises and major brands.”
