Manchester Airports Group has submitted an outline planning application for development of a 1.2m sq ft World Logistics Hub at the airport’s enterprise zone.
The plan is for a mix of logistics units ranging from 7,500 sq ft to 200,000 sq ft across a 36.9 ha site next to Junction 6 of the M56, and close to the existing airport freight area.
It is part of the £650m Airport City scheme revealed by Logistics Manager in January.
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Airport City director John Atkins said: “This scheme will create a sustainable commercial product of international significance that will provide high quality and well-connected logistics facilities with access to the global marketplace and a population of over 24m people within a two-hour drive time.”
The North West currently produces about 60 per cent of the UK’s industrial output, a significant proportion of which is exported. The World Logistics Hub will seek to capitalise upon this output, combining with the airport’s existing cargo facilities at the adjacent World Freight Terminal.
The hub is designed to provide a full range of air-to-road transfer, assembly and processing activities for freight forwarders and other logistics business with easy access to the Airport’s apron, train station and the UK motorway network.
The new buildings will all be all designed and constructed to the highest possible BREEAM and LEED environmental standards. The development is expected to generate more than 1,800 new jobs over the next 10 to 15-years.
Manchester is the UK’s fourth busiest airport by flown cargo volumes, carrying over 107,000 tonnes of import and export freight and mail in 2011.
