Central Bedfordshire Council has given the green light for construction to begin at Ascent Logistics Park – a major industrial site in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.
Commercial real estate investor and developer, Firethorn Trust, acquired the 24.5-acre scheme with outline planning permission from Pears Property in March 2020. Approval has now been granted for its reserved matters application, which set out details for the development’s appearance and layout.
Located by J11 of the M1, the speculative scheme consists of eight grade-A units, ranging from 12,000 sq ft to 130,000 sq ft. Plans for the highly-specified design include enhanced landscaping, renewable power generation, dedicated cycle and pedestrian paths and modern welfare facilities, which look to promote a sustainable and healthy working lifestyle.
The planning approval coincides with Firethorn’s acquisition of an additional acre of land, taking the total size of Ascent Logistics Park to 25.5-acres.
Work on site will begin in the coming weeks, with the first units due to be delivered in Q3 2021.
Chris Webb, Partner at Firethorn Trust, commented: “Firethorn has big ambitions for 2021, so we’re excited to be able to start the year with this key step in bringing Ascent to life.
“Covid-19 has accelerated ecommerce growth, but this has exposed a real shortage for modern, high-quality midbox warehousing that is able to effectively meet increasing occupier demand.
“The development of Ascent Logistics Park not only responds to this urgent need, but will also look to attract significant interest from occupiers, bring economic benefits to the region and enhance connectivity within the UK industrial network.”
All enquiries regarding Ascent Logistics Park should be directed to the scheme’s letting agents, Brasier Freeth and Knight Frank.
