Developer’s big plans for Foston
AN Ashbourne-based property firm which is leading the charge to turn Dove Valley Park in Foston into one of the biggest industrial hubs in the Midlands has announced plans for another huge building on the site.
Clowes Developments, which is based in the Ednaston Business Park, and has a property portfolio stretching across the UK, hopes to start work soon on a new 190,000sq ft industrial and distribution warehouse on Dove Valley Park’s plot four.
Plans have been submitted to South Derbyshire District Council for the new building, which will also host office space, and the firm says the infrastructure investment that will accompany the build will benefit the remaining 40 acres of development land at the site.
Dove Valley Park already hosts some big names, with facilities already established for JCB Power Systems, Futaba International, Tophat, Truma and Kuehne and Nagel.
Earlier this year, Clowes Developments announced plans for a huge bottling plant to serve supermarket giant Lidl.
Hailed as the “largest single investment in South Derbyshire since Toyota”, the 50,000sq m water processing, bottling and distribution site is set to create hundreds of jobs, and an anticipated investment of more than £50 million.
A planning application was submitted to South Derbyshire District Council and approved by the authority’s planning committee in December 2019. Since then, ground works have commenced on site with the water bottling facility expected next year 2022.
The facility will become the first production plant in the UK for the MEG Group.
Once set up, the facility will supply Lidl with mineral water and soft drinks for its supermarkets across the UK and Ireland. However, the latest project to be announced at Dove Valley Park is thanks to a tie in between Clowes Developments and Hines UK, an international real-estate firm.
The deal has seen forward funding set up for 12 speculative developments of over 750,000sq ft of logistic facilities across the East Midlands.
And one of these 12 facilities will be built on Plot 4 at Dove Valley Park. Commenting on the deal Greg Cooper, managing director and head of industrial and logistics at Hines UK said: “This was a particularly attractive opportunity given the paucity of new stock arriving on the market, which continues to see unprecedented tenant demand as the volume of transactions continue to soar, particularly for modern and fit-for-purpose units.
“We’re delighted to be working with Clowes who have an unparalleled track record for delivering first class industrial and logistics facilities.”