If the difficulties afflicting the transport sector are easily identifiable, so are the solutions. There are several that can be applied separately, although most need to be used in combination.

One way of easing road congestion is to develop the efficient end-to-end moving of goods using two or more forms of transport in an integrated transport chain.

The first phase of ProLogis’ speculative warehouse development at the former Michelin Tyre factory at Campbell Road, Stoke-on-Trent is under way. The first unit, DC1, measures 23,250sq m and will be extendable to 46,500sq m.

Brixton has completed seven new lettings at Trafford Park, Manchester totalling 2,380sq m following the acquisition of the property in March of this year. On average these lettings are 12% above the valuer’s ERVs at acquisition.

Rosemound Developments, the specialist distribution developer half-owned by HBoS, is developing a 46,500sq m cross-docked warehouse at Corby in conjunction with Standard Life Investment.

Family-owned kitchen and bathroom distributor Mark Two Distributors has taken on the newly refurbished 8,966sq m unit M1 on Moorfield Group’s Heywood Distribution Park in Greater Manchester as part of an on-going business expansion strategy.

Evans Property Group has announced that a further 37,200sq m of new speculative development will shortly be built at Fradley Park, its 300-acre distribution and warehouse centre on the A38 near Lichfield. Permission for three units of 9.300sq m, 4,

IMI Components has signed a 25-year lease at a rental of £5.50 per sq ft on a new 8,370sq m unit at Birmingham’s The Hub. It is the first tenant to take space at the development. Work has started on the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and I

Knowsley Development Partnership (KDP) is building four new high quality industrial buildings at Knowsley Business Park. Three of the buildings have been pre-sold to local companies and the fourth, speculative building, is already under offer.

There is a general perception that business rates are set by local authorities and used to pay for local services. In fact, the rate poundages are set nationally, local authorities are mere collection agencies for the Central Government and rateable value