Jaynic, the developer of Suffolk Park, at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, has secured detailed planning consent for an 870,000 sq ft warehouse to be developed for Belgian logistics, company Weerts Group.
The Belgian company concluded terms on the 42-acre site from Jaynic in October this year as its first location in the UK and the planning application was submitted immediately afterwards.
The 870,000 sq ft logistics facility will be completed in Summer 2021.
Ben Oughton, development director at Jaynic, said: “We are grateful to West Suffolk Council for their highly positive approach to this planning application. It was submitted on 23rd September and approved on the 3rd December. It is an outstanding effort by all, and enables us to appoint a contractor in the very near future.”
This is the largest ever warehouse transaction to be undertaken in Bury St Edmunds and the West Suffolk region bringing major new investment to the town.
Weerts Group has chosen Suffolk Park because of its proximity to the Felixstowe ferry connection with the European continent and its proximity to Junction 45 of the A14 providing fast links into the UK motorway network.
Weerts Group is headquartered in Liège, Belgium and has operations in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Hungary and Romania. Its General Logistics Services division offers its clients comprehensive solutions for warehousing, transport and value-add logistics services, with a strong focus on innovative solutions and engaging in continuous improvement projects with its clients.
The site sale to Weerts comes swiftly on the heels of the sale of Jaynic’s SP206 unit at Suffolk Park to Chinese consumer goods importer M H Star and re-affirms the rapidly increasing popularity of the A14 as a logistics location. In under six months these two transactions amount to 1.1m sq ft of warehousing and will create around 700 jobs for the local economy.
Cllr John Griffiths, Leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “The council’s hard work over years to bring together millions of pounds of investment to create Suffolk Park and its status as an Enterprise Zone is really paying off and enabling business expansion, skills growth and job opportunities including in research and development, high-tech, office and logistic uses. We are delighted to support this application and welcome the creation of further new jobs here in West Suffolk. The fact we are continuing to attract international businesses as well as supporting our local businesses in their growth ambitions, together with our strategic position on the A14 corridor, further illustrates that Bury St Edmunds and West Suffolk continues to be a great place to live and do business.”
Elsewhere at Suffolk Park the 112,000 sq ft first phase of Treatt Plc’s new global headquarters, being developed by Jaynic is due for completion imminently. The 114-acre Suffolk Park has outline planning consent for 2 million sq ft of business, distribution, and industrial space.
Suffolk Park agents are Bury St Edmunds based Hazells Chartered Surveyors, Cambridge agents Bidwells and Savills London’s logistics department.
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