Joint venture developer and investor Richardson Barberry has agreed pre-let terms with parcel delivery firm DPD for a major distribution centre at a new £100 million business park in the North East.
DPD has signed a 25-year lease on a 63,000 sq ft warehouse unit on an eight-acre site at Forrest Park, located next to Junction 59 of the A1(M) at Newton Aycliffe, Durham.
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 DPD building at Forrest Park.
West Midlands-based Richardson Barberry has already secured reserve matters planning consent and intends to submit a S73 minor amendment, specific to DPD’s building, imminently with a view to starting construction on site in Q1 2025. The state-of-the-art Grade A building will be built with sustainability in mind to BREEAM “Excellent” standards.
Jon Robinson, development director for Barberry, said: “This is a major pre-let to DPD, an internationally recognised occupier, which demonstrates the quality of our proposed development at Forrest Park, its connectivity and proximity to the motorway junction, nearby demographic and availability of labour. The pre-let will allow us to open up the site and create additional estate infrastructure and development plateaus. This is an exciting moment for the North East, Richardson Barberry and Forrest Park.
“We are thrilled to have agreed a 25-year lease with DPD. This deal has already prompted other potential occupiers who have shown interest in Forrest Park. We can deliver building opportunities on both freehold and leasehold terms from 30,000 sq ft up to 1m sq ft. 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 pre-let terms with such a major occupier as DPD.”
Louise Ferguson, head of property for DPD Group UK Ltd, said: “We are absolutely delighted to agree terms for a new, purpose-built DPD distribution centre at Forrest Park. It is a great location for us. The new facility is part of DPD’s aim to be the most sustainable delivery company in the UK and a leader in the move to electric delivery vehicles.
“We have invested heavily in our regional network in the last 10 years to meet the huge increase in demand for our services and this new facility will allow us to offer an even better service to the area, with more efficient fleet, shorter journeys and lower emissions.”
Richardson Barberry has secured detailed planning consent for a £100 million development of eight warehouse units at Forrest Park with £14 million already invested on preparing the site for development. Durham County Council approved the company’s plans for the first phase development of 830,500 sq ft of warehouse/logistics space on 42-acres of the 116-acre site at Forrest Park.
Forrest Park (Newton Aycliffe) Limited, a joint venture between Durham County Council and local landowners the Forrest family, signed a development agreement with Richardson Barberry. Over the next 10 years the park could provide upto 1.8 million sq ft of industrial space and create more than 3,000 jobs, boosting County Durham’s economy by almost half a billion pounds.
Overall, the development will extend Aycliffe Business Park to become the largest in the North East and will accommodate a range of business, industrial, warehouse and trade units, roadside restaurants and retail space next to the A1(M). A roadside retail development by Euro Garages, including a petrol filling station, a convenience store and a KFC drive-thru restaurant, has already been built on the first plot at the site.
As part of Geopost, DPD UK has a Net Zero target of 2040, which is fully validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). DPD UK recently confirmed that the UK operation is on track with the trajectory required to meet the group target.
