SEGRO’s Chief Operating Officer Andy Gulliford and London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing, Land and Property, Richard Blakeway this week hosted the official launch of East Plus – the regeneration of a series of industrial locations spanning Newham, Barking & Dagenham and Havering.
In October 2015, SEGRO was selected as the Greater London Authority’s preferred partner to deliver the industrial developments over a 10 year arrangement – signifying the largest deal of its kind between the public sector and a private land developer in the capital.
As a key part of the Mayor’s vision for London Riverside, the redevelopment of 86 acres of brownfield land owned by the Greater London Authority in London Riverside means that 99% of Greater London Authority land has now been released for development.
East Plus has the potential to create up to 7,000 new jobs in east London with 1.4m sq. ft of industrial space being delivered over the decade, attracting inward investment to the region.
During the event at The Crystal – a sustainably built exhibition space dedicated to ‘future cities’ – both speakers shared their vision for East Plus and the opportunity for investment and employment in east London.
Richard Blakeway, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Land and Property, said:
“The partnership between the GLA and SEGRO is one of the largest to create employment space on public land in London. In supporting the return of industry to London Riverside, this development shows a real commitment to supporting local trades and presenting new opportunities to attract businesses, keeping East London’s industrial heritage alive.
“As part of the Mayor’s vision for East London, we are working hard to create a mixture of residential and commercial property. Industrial life has long been the lifeblood of communities and SEGRO have great plans to promote training, education and employment.”
In addition to explaining the overarching themes of East Plus, SEGRO unveiled plans for the first development, Beam Reach 5 at Rainham, in the London borough of Havering. In total, there will be over 330,000 sq.ft. of industrial development delivered.
With easy access to the arterial road, the A13, Beam Reach 5 will be built over two phases. Planning will be submitted in March. Construction of phase one is scheduled to take place by October 2016 with phase two beginning in September 2018.
Beam Reach 5 will be made up of three plots that will offer 50 units in total.
During the first phase, 44 units ranging from 500 sq. ft. to 2,000 sq. ft. will constitute an ‘innovation village’ targeted towards small start-up businesses who aspire to grow and expand. The plans also include another plot for three units of 15,000 to 22,000 sq. ft. and two detached units of 52,000 sq. ft. and 66, 000 sq. ft.
Finally, one detached big box facility of 102,984 sq. ft. is planned on the third plot and will be phase two of the development.
Both elements will be developed to achieve the highest sustainability rating of ‘BREEAM Excellent’ which will include photovoltaic roof panels, LED lighting and electric car charging points.
Since October, the wider momentum around working with the local communities has also grown.
In early 2016, SEGRO announced the £300,000 grass root community fund which will be awarded to projects focused on employability and education, specifically to those projects who work with young people or homeless people, or those at risk of homelessness. It will be limited to organisations in the three key boroughs of East Plus and will run over 10 years.
As well as providing financial support to help improve levels of skill and training, SEGRO is working in partnership with The Centre of Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence, CEME, to develop and inspire the next generation of potential employees. The initiative will fund 1000 students from Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Newham schools to participate in CEME’s Gateway to Skills project and will be launched later in the Spring.
Andy Gulliford, SEGRO’s Chief Operating Officer, said:
“The official launch of East Plus is a significant milestone for SEGRO. We are proud to have the opportunity to bring to life parts of east London and deliver benefits of employment, training and funding to local communities. We’re especially keen to share our plans for the first development, Beam Reach 5.
“We continue to work closely with our partners to understand and use our experience to deliver grass roots funding, create training opportunities at the prestigious CEME as well as building modern warehousing and light industrial space to meet business needs.”
