A new sheds hotspot with around 8m sq ft of potential logistics development is evolving along the M40 in north Oxfordshire due to a relaxation in planning rules.
Figures compiled by Estates Gazette show huge development potential between junction nine at Bicester and junction 11 at Banbury, much of it on greenfield land.
Key M40 development hotspots
- Graven HIll, J9, 1.4m sq ft
- Land near J9, 1m sq ft
- Land near J10, 2.5m sq ft
- BAN 15, J11 1.7m sq ft
- Central M40, J11 1.2m sq ft
Around 500,000 sq ft is already speculatively under construction in Banbury, including a 235,000 sq ft warehouse due to complete in July at Central M40, a development by Delancey and Barwood joint venture DB Symmetry.
Nearly 3m sq ft could also be developed near junction 11, of which 1.2m sq ft already has planning consent. In the longer term, approximately 5m sq ft could be built out around junctions nine and 10 of the M40.
Resistance from local planners has meant the M40 corridor has seen little logistics development compared with the parallel M1 – one of the most sought-after warehousing locations in the country. But changes in Cherwell district council’s still-to-be-finalised new local plan opens the gate to B8 development.
The proposed local plan is currently being examined by the secretary of state.
Prior to the relaxation, less than 500,000 sq ft of logistics development existed in the area.
Chris White, founder of Banbury-based agent White Commercial, said: “The M40’s time is coming. The reason the M1 was the destination of choice was because there was nothing here for occupiers to look at.”
Research by JLL, published in April, showed that just 837,000 sq ft was available in big-box sheds currently under speculative construction across the whole of the South East.
