More than 2m sq ft of new sheds are being brought forward as part of a £92m transformation of the Widnes Freight Park in Cheshire.
Stobart Group has submitted plans to Halton borough council to develop three distribution centres totalling 1.4m sq ft at the site, also known as the Mersey Multimodal Gateway.
ProLogis, meanwhile, is understood to be in talks with online superstore Amazon to build a new rail-connected shed of about 1m sq ft.
In April, the Mersey Multimodal Gateway (3MG) partnership – comprising Stobart Group, ProLogis and Halton borough council – was awarded £9m from the Regional Growth Fund. The money is intended to fund the development of rail infrastructure and land remediation at the brownfield freight park.
Stobart’s property arm, Stobart Estates, has lodged plans for three sheds of 850,000 sq ft, 300,000 sq ft and 210,000 sq ft. Plans also include a biomass plant on 8 acres of land and a 280,000 sq ft office block.
Stobart previously developed a 528,000 sq ft shed in the area, leasing it to Tesco in 2009, then selling the site to Legal & General for £61m in February 2010.
The plans are part of the haulage company’s strategy to drive value from its property estate. Earlier this year it raised £115m on the stock market, of which £40m will be spent on the latest project.
Head of Stobart Estates Richard Butcher said: “We have 90 acres left on 3MG, and there is also Stobart Rail on site, which is a big attraction to investors.
“We will appoint an agent to sell the distribution centres to customers that could ideally use Stobart’s warehousing, rail and transport services.”
Last month, Estates Gazette revealed Amazon had struck a deal for the largest remaining speculatively built shed in the UK – the 700,000 sq ft Flair Building at G-Park in Rugeley, Staffordshire.
Amazon and ProLogis declined to comment.
nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
