DPD agrees prelet at £100m North East business park

Parcel delivery firm DPD has signed up for a distribution centre at a new £100m extension of Aycliffe Business Park in the North East. DPD will occupy a 63,000 sq ft building on a 25-year lease. The new hub is expected to safeguard 125 jobs for County Durham and generate up to another 250 jobs as part of the new built-to-suit facility. Developer Richardson Barberry secured detailed planning consent for the development at Forrest Park in Durham back in 2022. The 830,500 sq ft scheme consists of eight industrial facilities, ranging range from around 37,000 sq ft to 260,000 sq ft.  Richardson Barberry will now submit minor amendment to the wider scheme, specific to DPD’s building, with a view to starting construction on site early next year. The state-of-the-art grade-A building will be built with sustainability in mind to BREEAM Excellent standards. The wider masterplan is being delivered in partnership with Forrest Park (Newton Aycliffe), a joint venture between Durham County Council and local landowners the Forrest family. Over the next 10 years the park could provide up to 1.8m sq ft of industrial space and create more than 3,000 jobs.  Jon Robinson, development director for Richardson Barberry, said: “The prelet will allow us to open up the site and create additional estate infrastructure and development plateaus. “Newton Aycliffe is a highly attractive location for a range of major businesses due to its access to a skilled labour demographic and it is testament to the quality of Forrest Park that we have agreed prelet terms with such a major occupier as DPD.” See lettings in County Durham >> Image © Richardson Barberry