Four developers shortlisted for 10,000-job Peddimore site

Four developers have been shortlisted to partner with Birmingham City Council on the Peddimore employment site, one of the largest new manufacturing and logistics developments in the country.

The final four are IM Properties, Peel Logistics Property, Prologis UK and Bericote, which is partnering with Tritax Big Box REIT. The successful bidder will be announced in March 2018 at the MIPIM property festival in Cannes.

A major jobs site

Peddimore, which is owned by the council, offers the opportunity to build up to three million square feet of manufacturing and logistics space on 71 hectares of land near Sutton Coldfield. The site is forecast to create up to 10,000 jobs and contribute £350 million to the local economy.

The council says it has attracted international interest from the biggest names in the industrial and logistics market since the procurement process was launched in March.

Around 2.6 million people live within a 40-minute drive of the site, and it is less than half an hour's drive from Birmingham and East Midlands airports. The council describes it as one of the best-connected development opportunities to emerge in the country in the last five years.

"Jobs and opportunities"

Interim council leader Councillor Ian Ward said creating jobs for a young and growing population was one of the city's biggest challenges.

"One of our biggest challenges is to create jobs and opportunities for a young and growing population and this much-anticipated development site is forecast to create up to 10,000 jobs, contributing £350 million to the local economy," he said.

"I am delighted that Peddimore has attracted such strong interest from the international industrial property market and we have such a strong shortlist of partners who want to deliver this fantastic opportunity for the city of Birmingham and the wider region."

Waheed Nazir, the council's corporate director for economy, thanked all those who had expressed an interest and said he looked forward to working with the successful bidder.

Part of the city plan

Peddimore has been identified in the Birmingham Development Plan as a major employment site to meet the city's need for new jobs. It is one of a number of large sites the council is bringing forward to attract investment, alongside major regeneration schemes in the city centre such as Smithfield, where the search for a developer began in the summer.

Logistics and advanced manufacturing are growing sectors, and Birmingham's position at the centre of the national motorway network makes it an attractive location for companies looking to reach customers across the country.

The announcement also comes at a time of change at the top of the council. Councillor Ward is leading the authority on an interim basis after the resignation of John Clancy as leader in September.

For the communities of north Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield, the development holds out the prospect of thousands of new jobs on their doorstep, although the council will also face questions about traffic and the loss of green belt land as the plans move forward.