CHESHIRE GATEWAY VISION DOCUMENT SEPTEMBER 2014 A DEVELOPMENT TO DRIVE THE NORTHERN POWERHOUSE CONTENTS 1 Introduction 2 The Team 3 Setting out the Proposals 4 The Economic Drivers: Market Need 5 Site Location and Transport Links 6 Site Context & Constraints 7 The Emerging Concept Master Plan 8 Proposed Landscaping and Permeability 9 The Built Form – Logistics Park Concepts 10 Indicative Building Design Concepts – Logistics 11 Elevational Treatments 12 Landscape & Living Wall Concepts 13 Concept Visualisations 14 Design Concepts – Spode Green 15 The Built Form – Science & Technology Park 16 Emerging Design Concepts – Science & Technology Park 17 Summary 1 INTRODUCTION Delivering employment on an exceptional site This document has been prepared by of Barwood Developments Ltd and Tatton Estate Management Ltd to illustrate the concept of a significant employment and investment opportunity in north Cheshire adjacent to the A556 and junctions 7 and 8 of the M56.The Cheshire Gateway would create a state of the art, first class employment facility, creating some 2,500 jobs within the increasingly high-tech logistics, science and advanced manufacturing industries. Fig 1.1 Site Location in the North West & United Kingdom Each element would help deliver the economic aspirations of the Local Enterprise Partnership for the sub-region, which principally focuses on the logistical catalyst of the ‘Atlantic Gateway’ and the knowledge-based experience generated by the ‘North Cheshire Science Corridor’. Put simply, this is the only available and deliverable site within Cheshire East Borough that is capable of generating significant local economic growth within both these priority growth sectors. This document sets out the reasoning and concept strategies for development. The indicative proposals and zoning strategies are incorporated to demonstrate the successful integration of an exceptional design strategy. Early consideration has been given to development impacts and is explained in this document. The Tatton Estate is custodianship of much of this area and has an established historical relationship to the community. They are determined to secure a viable long term legacy for the landholding. Fig 1.2 Location Diagram 2 THE TEAM An experienced team that can deliver Cherry Tree Farm, A556 The site is owned by the Tatton Estate who is working with Barwood Developments Ltd to bring forward the Cheshire Gateway. They are supported by a first class team of consultants with decades of experience in delivering high quality and considered developments. Hayhurst Arms, Bostock Bostock Green Rostherne Tatton Estate Management Limited. The Tatton Estate is the owner of the Cheshire Gateway site and the largest private landowner in Cheshire East. Over 1,000 people live and work in our buildings. Our clients include Sainsbury’s, McLaren, Brunning & Price, Edmundson Electric, Bruntwood, and the BBC. Family owned, we have longstanding relationships with the local Knutsford, May Day Artisan Market community and are determined to secure a long term legacy for the area. We have a strong track record of property management and development with over 500 residential and commercial properties. We also work hard to conserve and maintain some Cheshire’s best historical assets, including the Peover Estate, the Town Hall in Knutsford and the villages of Rostherne and Bostock Green. The Estate also provides over 100 acres of sports, recreation, public open space and community facilities. “Our primary aim is to create places for future generations to live and work, supporting the economy of tomorrow. The Estate is looking to retain ownership of Cheshire Gateway ensuring it is a Knutsford Town Hall Peover Hall Conservative Club, Knutsford high quality development which the North West can be proud of.“ Clients: Peover Lake St Laurence’s Church 2 THE TEAM Big Sam, Bolton Barwood Developments Limited Barwood Development has been invited to work alongside Tatton Estate Management as the joint development manager in the delivery of the Cheshire Gateway. Barwood Developments Limited is a market leader in producing high quality and desirable employment space. Barwood are amongst the top performing independent, privately owned commercial property development companies in the UK. Their experienced development team has been involved in some of the most dynamic and successful development schemes throughout the UK and has a track record of over 8 million sq. ft. Cadbury Distribution Centre, Milton Keynes of industrial distribution, 1 million sq. ft. of offices and 1 million sq. ft. of leisure and retail warehousing space and have a strong north west presence through their Manchester team. Barwood has built up excellent relationships with a number of local councils, external organisations and Institutional Funds as joint venture and development partners; including J P Morgan, Aberdeen Asset Management, British Airways Pension Fund, LaSalle Investment Management, Henderson Global Investors, Prologis Developments, Prudential, Tesco, Knowsley Council. Chiltern Park, Buckinghamshire Manchester Green Business Park, Manchester The development team has also established key relationships with and undertaken a number of bespoke development schemes on behalf of occupiers such as Northamptonshire County Council, Cadbury’s, Unipart Logistics, P&O, John Lewis and B&Q. Clients: Galaxy, Knowsley Industrial Park, Knowsley 3 SETTING OUT THE PROPOSALS Priority growth sectors in the Cheshire East are shaped by the key priorities of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The LEP have focused their attention on the “Atlantic Gateway” as a world trade, logistics, business and innovation corridor, and the “Cheshire Science Corridor” that links key sites to the science and research community and academic institutions in Manchester/South Manchester and the surrounding areas of Warrington, Cheshire East and Cheshire West. Cheshire Gateway falls within both the geography and scope of these two core initiatives and provides a clear opportunity to align with the strategy established by the LEP. Given its excellent communications and demographic location at the heart of the Atlantic Gateway and at the centre of the Cheshire Science Corridor the site is well placed to attract occupiers to create clusters who would benefit from a high quality, landscape rich environment. It has the ability to draw employers into the area and strengthen Fig 3.1 Spoke and Hub Diagram the economic base of the Cheshire East Borough and wider sub- region. Fig 3.2 Advanced Manufacturing Fig 332 Amazon Fig 3.4 OCADO 4 NEED FOR EMPLOYMENT LAND Logistics Market Not only is Cheshire Gateway perfectly positioned for the car manufacturing at Speke and its environs, Ellesmere Port, logistics industry being at the heart of the Atlantic Gateway and Deeside and Crewe; nuclear at Warrington, Daresbury, Knutsford the site has the very attributes and characteristcs required to and West Cumbria; pharmaceuticals at biosciences at Alderley Park, offer a logical prospect for such development. Holmes Chapel and Macclesfield; food and associated engineering at Wigan; and railway engineering at Crewe. The logistics sector is very dynamic and is being driven by internet-based demand including sub-sectors that were not even Market trends therefore dictate the criteria for suitable sites which is contemplated as recently as five years ago. Sub-sectors include met by the Cheshire Gateway site since it is: third party logistics companies (3PLs), retailers and internet retailers, dark stores (virtual supermarkets), omni channels / click • in close proximity to the market place, adjacent to the Greater and collect, retail returns, multi-user facilities and parcel Manchester conurbation and accessible to 7 million people within distribution. The internet-based sub-sectors have driven 1 hour’s drive time; customer demand for shorter delivery times thus sites are • in close proximity to an ample pool of labour; required which are well connected to the primary transport • a large unconstrained site that can accommodate individual network and in close proximity to their market place. buildings to in excess of 500,000sqft; and, • located on the primary transport network at J7/8 of the M56, 4 The sizes of modern logistical warehouses now generally range miles from J19 of the M6 from 300,000sqft to 500,000sqft, although it is not uncommon to • viable and deliverable, with or without an upgrade to the A556. see buildings of 1,000,000sqft, with minimum eaves heights of 12m to 15m being the norm and cross docking facilities being In short, this is where occupiers want to be. increasingly common. As the market becomes increasingly Such is the demand for sites of this nature in the north west, the sophisticated, purpose built accommodation is becoming more release of the site will not stifle or slow down the delivery of other and more popular and the scale of the logistical warehouses employment sites in the area. Indeed, there is no other site available means that they generally need to be located on large within the Cheshire East area that could meet the above unconstrained sites. The scale of warehouses requires site to be requirements or is situated so close to the heart of Atlantic Gateway close to large centres of population both as a market place and a and the major urban conurbations of the north. source of labour. The Cheshire Gateway site is of such a scale and so strategically Manufacturing clustering is increasingly common as located that it sits at the top table for industrial and logistics manufacturers require their suppliers to be in close proximity to enquiries along with the North West regions other sites of the ensure just in time delivery. Associated industries also cluster highest calibre, namely: Omega, Warrington; Logistics North, around the particular activity to take advantage of the skill sets Bolton; Kingsway Business Park, Rochdale; Buckshaw, Chorley / and intellectual property the local labour force affords. Key Leyland; Port of Salford, Irlam; and Airport City South, and provides clusters within the Cheshire East Borough and wider North West much needed supply for the borough and region in the plan period.