The steel super sheds: inside construction’s booming logistics sector

Encompassing parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, the area has excellent transportation links, being close to the M1 and M6 motorways. This strategic location, in the centre of the country, allows goods to be transported to anywhere in the UK within a matter of hours, while the A14 also links the triangle with Felixstowe, the UK’s largest and busiest container port.

Developed by GLP, as its flagship park, it is home to 29 different occupiers, including Toyota, BT, Asda Walmart, Amazon, DHL and Britvic.

The park, which is divided into north and south areas, is continuing to expand and currently, Winvic Construction is building the largest speculative unit GLP has developed to date. Known as MPN 761, the steel-framed 70,699 sq m distribution centre, which is due to complete this summer, features six 30m-wide spans, has an 18m clear height to haunch, and includes a three-storey office and two transport hubs.

Elsewhere in the Triangle at Magna Park Corby, VolkerFitzpatrick, working with Severfield, has recently completed two portal-framed warehouses, with a combined floor area equivalent to more than 20 football pitches, while next to East Midlands Airport and incorporating its own rail freight terminal, SEGRO’s logistics park has plans for further expansion.  

A short distance from the River Severn, developer Panattoni recently constructed one of the UK’s largest-ever speculative developments. The scheme, known as Panattoni Park Avonmouth, consists of two 17m-high units; one offering 37,718 sq m of floorspace and a much larger warehouse, measuring 425m by 188m, providing 82,727 sq m.

With a maximum width of 210m, the structure has four spans at its widest point, but just one single span for nearly half of its length. A series of large steel trusses, forming a significant portion of the 35,000 tonnes of steelwork supplied by British Steel and erected by Severfield, create the roof of the factory.