Developing British Land’s first multistorey logistics hub outside of London

Weston Avenue Logistics Hub

The growing demand for logistics space, underpinned by the growth of eCommerce and rising customer expectations on speed and convenience of deliveries, presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Redeveloping the land within Lakeside Regional Shopping Centre into a two-storey 61,893 square-metre logistics facility provides an ideal opportunity for logistics space—one which is rarely available in the UK.

Our interdisciplinary team of planners, landscape designers, transport engineers, environmental specialists, and economists provided British Land with the confidence they needed to submit and secure planning permission for this complicated, high quality logistics space.

British Land wanted a landmark building, located near the iconic QE2 Bridge, with a brief to not appear like a traditional warehouse. The solution? We designed a highly efficient, low carbon building featuring a landscape entrance square, employee garden, layered landscaped strategy, and a green wall. The building will have a solar photovoltaic (PV) roof, and a biodiversity net gain of 27 percent for habitats and 60 percent for hedgerows. With this commitment to sustainability, we’re also targeting a BREEAM Outstanding rating (a science-based sustainability assessment) for the building.

When operational, the proposed development will see a 150 percent increase in full time equivalent jobs. New cycleways and footpaths will encourage travel to work by sustainable means while actively encouraging employees to explore the wider Lakeside shopping facilities.