Wakefield okays 500,000 sq ft at City Fields
Opus North and Bridges Fund Management have secured outline planning permission to develop a 31-acre industrial site, acquired from Keyland in 2022.
The approved scheme will run adjacent to the £33m Wakefield Eastern Relief Road (WERR) and will support the regeneration of the wider 925-acre City Fields area.
Opus and Bridges’ consent covers urban logistics and industrial development of varying sizes, along with the potential for trade counter units and assorted pub/restaurant and drive-thru options. BREEAM ‘Very Good’ and EPC A are being targeted “as a minimum”.
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Opus North and Bridges are submitting a further reserved matters application for the site-wide enabling works. This will include site clearance and plateau preparation as well as drainage and utility installation works.
Subject to approval on this, works are scheduled to begin in early 2024 with the first phase of construction focused on a drive-thru plot, followed by 80,000 sq ft of industrial buildings with the aim of the first building to complete in late 2024.
Ryan Unsworth, joint managing director of Opus North, said: “We are delighted that our plans for the City Fields site have been granted approval. The half a million square feet of employment space will be the key commercial element of the regeneration plans for the wider City Fields site which, at a total of 373 acres, will make a significant contribution to the area’s economic prospects.
“A regeneration scheme of this scale is something we are hugely invested in and its delivery will make great strides in growing the northern commercial sector.”
Guy Bowden, partner at Bridges Fund Management, said: “City Fields is one of the most exciting development opportunities in the region. We’re looking forward to transforming this site into a highly sustainable commercial and industrial hub, with a range of ‘build to suit’ units of different sizes.
“This will help to address the clear regional shortage of high-quality space, while also enabling occupiers to achieve their own ESG goals and supporting the transition to Net Zero.”
Appointed industrial agents for City Fields are Carter Towler, Knight Frank and Avison Young. The wider project includes up to 2,500 homes and supporting commercial uses.
