Transport and logistics: A driving force for growth

Logistics is building momentum in Lancashire. New developments with big sheds are on the drawing board or emerging from the ground at key strategic sites across the county.

To the east, Frontier Park in Burnley is moving ahead at pace. The site, off junction 9 of the M65, is being developed by Monte Blackburn.

It follows the success of the original Frontier Park, which also sits on a prime site off the M65 on a gateway to Blackburn, and which has attracted major logistics operations.

Meanwhile, the sheds on the £100m Botany Bay Business Park development on the M61 at Chorley are fast rising out of the ground and, like Frontier Park, it is in a prime position for logistics operations.

FI Real Estate Management (FIREM) is currently constructing 33 units totalling 405,386 sq ft of space in the first phase of the project, with planning permission granted for phase two, which will see a further 322,560 sq ft developed.

Planning permission has been granted for APTUS, an 800,000 sq ft strategic employment site in Preston, which its developers say could lead to the creation of 1,500 new jobs. The site, close to Junction 31A of the M6 and Preston city centre, will be developed by HBD and Barnfield Group.

Topping them all, the biggest proposed development in the county has also got the green light - the landmark 1.6 million sq ft Lancashire Central site, at Cuerden.

Developers say the scheme has already received ‘strong interest’ from local, regional and national companies.

The figures behind the plan are impressive. Lancashire County Council and its development partner Maple Grove Developments believe it has the potential to create up to 5,600 full time jobs once in operation and add an annual £390m to the local economy.

Outline planning permission for the mixed-use development, which includes provision for logistics, sets out the principle for developing the site, as well as more detailed plans for road access and key environmental measures.

So, with all this development activity, how well placed is Lancashire to benefit economically from future logistics growth?

James Scott, director at Maple Grove, believes the county is well-placed, in terms of what has been delivered, the infrastructure that is on its way and its location.

He says that logistics companies are increasingly seeing the benefits of being located in Lancashire, with a growing focus on what the county can offer, and he adds: “There’s a huge demand from occupiers. Manchester has obviously seen huge growth over the past ten to 20 years and the demand from that growth is being borne into Lancashire.”

Looking specifically at the Lancashire Central development he says: “The real trick here for us, and the county council as our partner, is to be able to get to that place where we are able to get on site and deliver.

“It’s a great site, on the M65 terminus roundabout and near to the M61 and the M6. It couldn’t really be located any better.

“We’ve got the ability there to deliver a single footprint building of about 650,000 ft and there aren’t many places in the North West where there is that ability to do that.”

He adds: “We’ve got a real opportunity here to deliver much needed jobs. The benefits for a scheme like this for Lancashire are enormous and we just need to be able to move it to the next stage.”

Simon Lawrence, director of growth and regeneration at Lancashire County Council is also upbeat when it comes to the future direction of travel.

The Lancashire 2050 strategic framework includes transport and infrastructure and Cuerden was part of the county’s big investment pitch at this year’s UK REiiF (UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) gathering.

Simon believes both devolution and levelling-up will remain on the agenda of the new government, both areas where the county can benefit. He says: “That is going to make Lancashire more attractive nationally and internationally. It will attract more investment for infrastructure and that’s really crucial for us.

He also points to the £700m of Local Transport Fund money that was allocated to Lancashire over a seven-year period by the previous government.

Simon adds: “There’s significant opportunity to invest in the infrastructure and that will support projects like Lancashire Central as an example.

“But it’s also then about ensuring that we use public funding to shoehorn in private sector funding as well, to support those projects.”

Daniel Barry is a supply chain and logistic specialist and co-founder of Heysham headquartered North Star Projects. The independent consultancy focuses on improving the supply chain and logistics for businesses and organisations.

He points to the success of Northampton, seen as the logistics capital of the UK, and believes the sector in Lancashire has a potential opportunity, through its new developments, to adopt the east midlands’ town’s approach when it comes to harnessing collaboration and clustering.

He says: “One of the reasons that people consider Northampton and its ‘golden triangle’ the UK’s logistics capital is that it delivers a one-stop shop.

“You’ve got warehousing, fitters, rackers, transport companies, fulfilment centres and consultancies. Everything is in one place.

“I’d like to see more of that in Lancashire. If we could all be in one space together, on one park, that is something that is attractive to clients. There’s real opportunity for growth through collaboration.”

While building work goes on, businesses throughout the county’s transport and logistics sector supply chain are looking at ways they can benefit from this latest growth spurt.

Elizabeth Porter is managing director at Chorley based Brysdales, one of the UK’s leading providers of racking, shelving, archive storage solutions and partitioning, as well as mezzanines and material handling equipment.

She says: “We’ve grown 20 per cent year on year. We’re now moving into automation and we’re in the process of building an innovation hub in our warehouse where people can see that automation at work.

“The North West of England has been one of the most sought-after places for industrial warehousing in the world in recent years and we’re set to support a lot of businesses locally.”

Wayne Ousby, owner of Colne based vehicle rental business Craven Vehicle Services, also sees new investment in logistics in Lancashire as a catalyst for more growth.

He says: “We’re positioning ourselves to grow in the corporate market, supporting more local businesses, certainly around Burnley, where we are near to Frontier Park, and watching it develop.

“I’m currently looking at businesses that will potentially be coming to sites like this, because investment into logistics brings with it opportunity.”

Lama Fulfilment is based in Clayton-le-Moors. It is a third-party fulfilment and long-term storage company with more than 20 years of industry experience.

The company takes deliveries from its customers, books them into its warehouse management system, receives orders on their e-commerce channels and picks, packs and ships them.

Managing director Vernon Yerkess says Lancashire is home to “significant” international players in fulfilment that are successful because of their ‘can-do’ attitude and ability to deliver solutions to clients.

He believes one of the secrets of his company’s success is the human element it brings to the process.

Vernon says: “We don’t win the market on price, we win the market with our service because of that human element. We go out into the market and say, ‘Listen, guys, we’re here, we’re not a robot but we’re as efficient as a robot.’

“E-commerce has plateaued a little bit in the last couple of years but it’s still a massive market. For us it’s just about differentiating and specialising.”

Clitheroe based Backhouse Jones is a specialist transport law firm focused on representing clients from the passenger and freight transport industries. Mark Davies, its head and legal director, agrees that the positive attitude of businesses in the region helps set them apart.

He says: “We’ve recently managed to get an operator’s licence for a company based in the North West involved in the container chain.

“They’re doing something very specific. Where most logistics companies are just moving one container from here to there and that’s it, they are consolidating orders within containers from their warehouse.

“They describe it as the ‘dirty end’ of that chain. They’ve got global businesses backing them because it’s something they can offer that nobody else is prepared to do anywhere else in the country.”

Blackburn based Monks Contractors provides haulage services and plant hire to the waste industry. The business also offers plant repair and has a civil contracting team.

Craig Fisher, plant and workshop manager, is feeling positive as the company looks to invest and grow on the back of the development work being seen in the county.

He says: “We’ve opened a new welding facility and taken on more people there and there is an opportunity for us to build on that. We’re going to continue looking to expand.

“Lancashire’s a great place and it works for us. We get a good deal out of it, like I say, we’re supporting local businesses.”