Historic site, enduring partnerships
The HBD x Barnfield Construction partnership, while not quite as historic as the Roman era of Great Britain, has endured and strengthened over many years, having already delivered Beacon 62, a mixed retail and roadside scheme in Huyton and the 190,000sq ft industrial and logistics scheme at East near Preston.
The third venture will be APTUS. Designated as a strategic employment site, it will help bring jobs and economic prosperity to the Preston area.
The partnership has been working closely with Preston City Council since 2019 to shape its plans for the site, to ensure it meets the strategic needs of the local population, as well as delivering first class industrial and logistics facilities to meet the immediate and future requirements of this continually expanding sector. In preparation, a range of technical experts and specialist consultants have provided the Council with a host of assessments covering flood risk and drainage, archaeology, ecology, highways, acoustics, geology and geo environmental considerations.
Stakeholders such as Homes England and Preston City Council have also provided invaluable support with navigating discussions around land acquisition to assist access into the site.
Next steps
APTUS is in a great location, just 1.5miles east of the M6 and four miles from Preston city centre. Situated close to both UCLAN and Lancaster University, the development proves easily accessible for future employees who live in the region.
Having acquired the site in September 2023, planning consent was granted in November 2023. Infrastructure and access works will start in the early part of 2024 to open up the site for Q3 of 2024.
The first phase of construction will see the creation of the spine road down through the site, off site highway works and infrastructure provision to bring power into the site. Once the spine road is complete the various plots of land will be developed on a design and build and potentially speculative basis.
Protecting our heritage
Working with the council’s archaeologist, the remains of the Roman Road were located and plotted during the pre-planning archaeology studies.
Protecting nature
The site will include a 15 acre biodiversity area which will include attenuation ponds to capture run off following heavy rainfall and which will also create a habitat for wildlife. The joint venture has also made a significant payment to the Local Wildlife Trust as part of the companies biodiversity net gain commitment.
Reaching for new standards in development
APTUS will be built to BREEAM Excellent standards and include energy saving measures such as EV charging points and PV panels, which will provide significant additional power to the site.
Supportive comments
Ed Hutchinson, Managing Director of HBD, says: “APTUS is the latest project for HBD and Barnfield, a successful partnership which continues to deliver high quality, sustainable industrial and logistics spaces in prime locations. This site is extremely well located and will no doubt see strong interest from potential occupiers, particularly given the shortage of Grade A space along key corridors.”
Tracy Clavell-Bate, Head of Development for Barnfield Group, adds: “We are looking forward to working again with HBD on this significant project for us – both as a developer, and for Preston.”
