Associated British Ports plans to develop over 1,000 acres of land to support the UK’s supply chain, manufacturing, and renewable energy sectors.
A total of 14 sites at ports including Cardiff, Immingham, Newport, Port Talbot, Southampton, and Hull will be developed for a range of business uses. All of these locations benefit from strong road and rail connectivity.
Over the next 18 months, the company has committed to spending more than £5 million ($6.7 million) to make the sites ready for development, obtaining appropriate outline planning consents, technical understanding and carrying out essential land preparation.
A full list of site locations being developed, alongside their sizes, has been included below:
- ABP Business Park, Cardiff (36 acres)
- Atlantic Side South Dock & West Way, Newport (two sites of 73 acres and 18 acres respectively)
- Cliff Quay, Ipswich (11 acres)
- Grimsby Automotive Park (92 acres)
- Harbourside, Port Talbot (85 acres)
- Hull International Enterprise Park (468 acres)
- Imm-Port and Queens Road, Immingham (two sites of 51 acres and 9 acres respectively)
- King George & Queen Elizabeth Dock, Hull (159 acres)
- Redbridge and Site L, Southampton (two sites of 42 acres and 7 acres respectively)
- High-Level North Dock & 1:40, Liverpool (two sites of 6 acres and 11 acres respectively)
“Our ports – with their superb connectivity both domestic and internationally, together with established infrastructure – already play a key role in the UK manufacturing, supply chain and energy sectors,” said Henrik L. Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer for Associated British Ports.
“This initiative will enable a growing number of businesses to leverage our land, property partnering expertise and power capacity. We believe this can make a significant contribution to the country’s economic vibrancy and supply chain efficiency.
“Associated British Ports is a strategic partner for UK businesses assisting the country’s post-pandemic recovery and achieving the common goal of decarbonisation.”
Real estate services and investment firm CBRE is advising the port operator on this initiative.
Bruce Robertson, Head of Supply Chain and Consumer Advisory at CBRE, commented “The country needs more distribution hubs adjacent to major conurbations with a good labour supply and which can connect into our road and rail networks. These ABP sites are superbly situated to do just that.
“The need for more warehouse space to fulfil online retailing – which is growing and was accelerated by the pandemic – plus ongoing labour shortages are putting unprecedented pressure on the UK’s supply chain.”
This initiative will also allow Associated British Ports to play an important role in supporting the offshore wind industry, following on from previous partnerships the company has been involved with in the past.
“One of our biggest offshore wind projects is Green Port Hull – a £310 million ($416 million) state-of-the-art production and assembly facility on which we partnered with the wind turbine supplier, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy,” added Pedersen.
“Facilities off the East Coast of the UK will play a pivotal role in green energy generation, and we believe our land development initiative can help anticipate future manufacturing demand for these facilities on the way towards a net-zero carbon country.”
Associated British Ports has also previously announced it has invested a further £4 million ($5.52 million) in the Port of Garston, Liverpool. Announced in August 2021, the investment followed the port’s expansion earlier in the year, delivering additional covered and external storage.
