"M&S site will be huge boost for economy" (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

"M&S site will be huge boost for economy"

8:37pm Sunday 4th November 2007 in Business By Mark Casci

The news last month that Marks & Spencer was to base its new logistics centre in Bradford was greeted with resounding enthusiasm from the Bradford business community.

Small wonder, really, when one considers the development will create more than 2,500 jobs and bring much needed funding and development to the city.

The ProLogis development is the biggest the company has ever undertaken and will cover 90 acres on completion.

And with houses and separate business units set to complement the M&S site, one may wonder what Bradford has done to deserve such a boon for its economy.

Mr Byrom however says there can be little doubt as to why Bradford was selected for the prestigious site.

"It is well situated on the M62 corridor," he said.

"They needed to find a location which would allow them to service key customers with labour in the catchment area.

"Bradford just ticked all the boxes. It is well-placed as a major conurbation and it has a good availability of labour.

"We also needed a big site, and while we looked at many locations the one we chose was right for the scale of the building.

"Another thing about Bradford was the support we had from the Council.

"Eighteen months ago nobody would have believed us if we had mentioned this deal. It is the largest we have ever done in the UK or Europe."

The distribution centre for M&S was a new addition to the development and as a result, an amended planning application was sent to Bradford Council.

The business park includes a range of "advanced business and enterprise units" suitable for small to medium-sized businesses, local occupiers and national companies. The 145 homes proposed on the eastern part of the site are unchanged from previous plans.

In addition to 2,500 jobs at the Marks & Spencer centre, an extra 500 to 1,000 jobs could be created across the site.

However, as Mr Byrom points out, there are further benefits besides job creation.

He said: "It is not just 2,500 jobs in isolation. It will have an impact on the GDP of the area. With the 2,500 jobs there will be around 2,500 more families spending in the area - it will have a massive impact on a sub-regional scale.

"As for the business community it will be good for all the businesses around it.

"The house building programme will help with community infrastructure of the area and invariably some of the people that work on that site are going to end up living there too."

It is only when Mr Byrom goes through statistics relating to the development one begins to get a scale of how big the development is. The M&S development alone runs to millions of square feet and contains a total of four mezzanine floors in its main building.

And the development looks to be a firm and long-term commitment to Bradford.

Mr Byrom said: "To put things into perspective, M&S has signed a 35-year lease on this building."

Considering the longevity of the lease, ProLogis is to make the development as environmentally friendly as possible.

Efforts are being made to make the building carbon neutral during construction.

"The building is being designed so that it conserves energy during the operational process," said Mr Byrom.

"There will be an atrium round the middle instead of using electricity to light it. There has been a lot of research into what works and what doesn't work."

Although the construction work is out to tender, Pro-Logis says it would like to use local labour and companies.

With several projects in the city facing delays or suffering a lack of progress, it is refreshing to hear Mr Byrom spell out a clear timetable for action on the ProLogis site.

If given the nod by planning bosses, work should start by March 2008. M&S is expected to start fitting out the centre while construction is in progress, meaning the site could be functional by 2009.

Asked if it was important to ProLogis, as developers, to get going as soon as possible, Mr Byrom replied: "Very much so. We are 100 per cent focused on deliverability."