Panattoni Submits Plans For Redevelopment Of Former Marley Works Near Maidstone
Panattoni, the world’s largest privately owned developer of industrial real estate, has submitted a hybrid planning application to create Panattoni Park, Maidstone, a major industrial and logistics development on a brownfield site in Lenham,Kent.
The vacant 70-acre site at Lenham was until recently the home of Aliaxis; and formerly the Marley Works. Located on the A20, it is strategically close to the M20 providing strong connections to London, the M25, and key ports serving the UK and continental Europe.
The application includes detailed proposals for a first phase, comprising two units, one 100,000 sq ft and one 150,000 sq ft. Outline permission is also being sought for the second phase of 790,000 sq ft, which will provide customers with the opportunity to secure flexible built-to-suit facilities tailored to their operational requirements.
It’s estimated that the Panattoni Park Maidstone development would sustain 600 construction jobs during the two-year construction programme. When completed the development could employ between 1,040 and 2,695 direct jobs on the site, which is estimated to be worth up to £404m to the Kent economy.
Panattoni has set itself high environmental performance targets for this Maidstone scheme; including BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and EPC A+ ratings, with buildings designed to support modern logistics, manufacturing, and distribution operations.
David McGougan, Senior Development Director for the South East at Panattoni, said: “This is a significant planning application that will repurpose and redevelop more than one million square feet of high-quality industrial and logistics space on a site already earmarked for employment.
“With the ongoing supply of high-quality commercial property market constrained, Panattoni will be able to deliver the combination of immediately available units, as well as flexible built-to-suit opportunities required by a broad range of businesses. Panattoni Park Maidstone is exceptionally well located for businesses serving London, the South East, and European markets.”
These proposals will take Panattoni’s wider investment in Kent to more than £625m. This follows its successful redevelopment of the former 90-acre Aylesford Newsprint site into Panattoni Park, Aylesford. Panattoni has also delivered Panattoni Park, Sittingbourne, transforming a site – vacant for 20 years – into 645,000 sq ft of high-quality logistics and distribution space, and the largest speculative development in Kent for many years. A smaller 8-acre site at Wrotham is also being brought forward by Panattoni, and is currently progressing through the planning process.
For further information on the Maidstone project, visit www.panattoni-marleyworks.co.uk
