Plans have been submitted to build a massive 95,000 sqft of Grade A urban logistics space on a four-acre site on a former gas works site on Factory Lane.
Putting the ‘factory’ into Factory Lane: a CGI of the proposed ‘logistics centre’
The developers claim the scheme could create more than 250 jobs.
A joint venture between developer Chancerygate and SGN Place, the property development subsidiary of gas distribution company SGN, intends to develop a scheme comprising 14 units ranging from 1,000 sqft to 17,000 sqft. All units will be available on a leasehold basis.
The Factory Lane site is alongside a Tesco distribution centre, Sainsbury’s, Royal Mail and Decathlon.
Subject to planning approval from Croydon Council, work on the proposed development is anticipated to commence in January 2023 and will be ready for occupation at the end of next year.
Chancerygate development director, Jonathan Lee, said: “We are very pleased to have submitted our first joint planning application as part of our JV with SGN Place.
“This is a hugely exciting opportunity to deliver the first leasehold multi-unit urban logistics site in Croydon for more than 10 years.
“There is very strong demand for high specification, new build urban logistics space in the town and the development has been designed to provide best-in-class last mile facilities with the highest ESG credentials.
“Subject to planning, we look forward to working with our partner SGN Place to revitalise the site and create an enduring and sustainable asset for Croydon. We anticipate the development will enable the creation of more than 250 jobs providing further economic benefit for the town.”
Chancerygate says it is the country’s largest multi-unit industrial developer and asset manager and the only one operating nationwide.
The company currently has more than 3.5m sq ft of industrial space under construction or ready for development across 32 sites.
SGN Place is a property development subsidiary of SGN, focused on regenerating brownfield land like gasholders and former industrial sites into prosperous, sustainable residential and commercial developments.
The agents on the development include Stiles Harold Williams.
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If the CGI picture looks like the final article, there sems to be some greening–a welcome fact, considering the overall concrete-over-the-world results of decades of poor planning and design at the Beddington/ factory lane area.
It is a shame that most current industrial and business “parks” are still usually “treeless concrete, steel and tarmac deserts”. That includes estates left over from the Victorian / Edwardian era and the 1920’s to the 1990’s.
A noble exception to this sad rule are the developers who own and manage many estates round Heathrow and Slough. They have not only attractiive , hi-tech, very large buildings, designed by real architects, but also large numbers of trees, and miles of simple hedges, plus some shrub planting areas, designed by real Landscape architects. Hounslow has quite a few very beautiful business parks.
And, amazingly, these estates don’t only start out green, but stay green, and are maintained by decent landscape contractors .
Beddington Lane, and the Purley way (Ex Croydon Airport) area have acres of concrete surfaces and sheds, and miles of fences, but very few trees. This is down to the developers who built the estates, and also Sutton and Croydon Planners in every decade, for letting the developers design treeless deserts.
The irony is that a line if trees along the street frontages of all units is not a costly thing to provide, nor maintain, if the tree types are selected wisely so that they don’t need much or any pruning over their lifetimes..
Another thought— is the brand new building going to be covered with PCV cells, to generate electricity ?
If one stands on the Upper Norwood hill, looking out to the NW to Waddon, Beddington and Purley way, one realises what a massive area of industrial roofs in the form of warehouses and depots, there really are. It must be hecatres and hectares. If all these were equipped with solar panels, the amount of electricty generated would be considerable.
Will government insist that all new buildings are also generators of electricity?
Or is that going to be an intolerable burden on hard-working native entrepreneurs looking to revitalise our flagging economy, and eager foreign entrepreneurs from investing in open-for-business Britain?
Chris Philp, and Liz Truss PM, over to you .