Large Poyle Industrial Estate plan revamped to meet increased demand

A plan for warehouses in Poyle Industrial Estate has been permitted a major revamp to meet gaps in demand for goods distribution.

The site is at the southern end of Poyle Industrial Estate and extends about 12,000sqm.

The development at the existing World of Colour Service is for the construction of a warehouse with office space covering a total area of about 7,331sqm.

Developer Panattoni wants to demolish Valerie House and Jupiter House on Horton Road, Colnbrook, to make room for its newly devised commercial building.

Valerie House, a detached three-storey warehouse, contains approximately 4,190sqm of storage and distribution space. Jupiter House is two-storeys and about 2,540sqm.

In fact, planning permission was already granted in 2020 for 7,320sqm of commercial floorspace across six smaller units in place of these (P/09811/001).

This would have been in the form of two buildings across two-storeys, each containing three employment units.

Under the new proposal, there is to be a single, slightly larger one – responding to changes in demand.

The applicant says there is demand for last-mile distribution centres (the final phase of the delivery process) to the west of London.

“Based on market intelligence, there is a very limited supply of units between 50,000 to 100,000sqft and a greater supply of smaller units in the local market,” claims Panattoni’s representatives, Turley.

“Due to proximity to Heathrow Airport, a number of potential occupiers have requirements [that are] location critical to the immediate area and which currently cannot be satisfied due to the lack of supply.”

There are some other changes between this and the previous application.

The former was to deliver eight lorry loading bays, 60 cycle stands, 113 car parking spaces with six wheelchair accessible bays and 12 electric vehicle charging bays, along with ducting to provide an additional 12 EV bays in the future.

In this case, 59 car parking spaces are proposed with eight EV parking spaces and two disabled parking bays, alongside 20 cycle parking spaces.

Parking spaces will be split across two areas, with 31 car parking bays via the western access and 28 parking bays to the east.

There remain some changes to access, internal roads and footways.

The new development will provide two accesses along Horton Road, including one for staff and visitor car parking and one for HGV access and further staff car parking.

In addition, the proposal will ‘realise the removal of a less controlled, wide cross-over type arrangement’ for HGVs currently providing access onto Horton Road.

A larger access will be located on the southeast corner of the site, which will accommodate the sites HGV movements.

A car parking access will also be located to the centre of the site’s southern boundary, which is an adaptation of the existing access on site.

It is also economically ‘feasible’ for the build to install 250sqm of roof mounted solar panels, five sqm of roof mounted solar thermal panels (used to heat water) and an air source heat pump.

The plans were approved by Slough council. Read more about them with reference P/09811/002.