SmartParc teams up with SEGRO on £300m food production campus
SmartParc has appointed SEGRO as the development partner for a flagship £300m, 1.9m sq ft, high-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus on a former Celanese site at Spondon, Derby.
SEGRO said it will make a “multimillion-pound” investment in the regeneration project, which covers 112 acres. Its first occupiers are expected to be lined up for early 2022.
The SmartParc SEGRO Spondon site aims to create “a new asset class dedicated to food manufacturing and distribution that meets the challenges of sustainable production”, while addressing the “need for efficient direct routes to consumers”.
SmartParc has appointed SEGRO as the development partner for a flagship £300m, 1.9m sq ft, high-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus on a former Celanese site at Spondon, Derby.
SEGRO said it will make a “multimillion-pound” investment in the regeneration project, which covers 112 acres. Its first occupiers are expected to be lined up for early 2022.
The SmartParc SEGRO Spondon site aims to create “a new asset class dedicated to food manufacturing and distribution that meets the challenges of sustainable production”, while addressing the “need for efficient direct routes to consumers”.
This includes devising new sustainable food production ecosystems, looking to new technologies such as vertical farming.
It aims to provide food manufacturing facilities ranging from start-up incubation units through to large-scale manufacturing facilities, ranging from 50,000 to 400,000 sq ft.
The site will also provide a central distribution hub and a food manufacturing technology centre of excellence for future-proofing the food industry, with the latter offering education and career opportunities.
SmartParc will provide onsite managed services, supporting the food community to increase production efficiency and driving reduced operational costs through collaborative working. It will also use wind and solar energy combined with central services.
Derby City Council granted planning permission for the site in June. It will also benefit from grant funding contributions from the council and D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, which has allocated £12m to the scheme.
Jackie Wild, chief executive of SmartParc, said the project addresses “the increasingly critical challenges facing food manufacturing supply chains.”
Wild said: “The creation of this dedicated asset class is pivotal in achieving a more sustainable future for food production and giving a framework for the food industry to build upon.
“We want to embrace Derby’s engineering heritage to ensure that SmartParc is the home of the next food revolution. We already have a significant level of interest from manufacturers and retailers, both from the UK and overseas, and we are starting work immediately so we can welcome our first ‘collaborators’ to SmartParc early next year.”
Andrew Pilsworth, national logistics managing director at SEGRO, said: “SmartParc’s bold new concept for food manufacturing and distribution has the potential to be a true game-changer.
“Over the past 18 months we’ve seen the importance of having robust supply chains closer to home and being able to quickly and efficiently distribute goods. SmartParc enables both of these within the vital food and drink sector, and does so while keeping sustainability at its heart.
“By backing innovative projects like this one, we are levelling up areas across the country by building stronger and more resilient local economies, which can support jobs and prosperity in our communities.”
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