Two former colliery sites in Rotherham have made it onto a longlist of sixty-five "Logistic Hub" locations – off-site centres for construction and manufacturing which will help Heathrow Airport deliver its expansion plan.
The London airport, the largest in the UK and one of the biggest in the world, received Government support for expansion so that the need for additional capacity in the south-east of England will be met by a new north-west runway at Heathrow.
As part of the expansion, which has an estimated cost of £17.6bn, four logistic hubs will be located across the country as the airport pledges to shake-up the UK construction industry by using expansion to revolutionise the way Britain builds major infrastructure.
Eight sites in the Sheffield city region have made the longlist of 65 including 31 East, the remaining land on the reclaimed Dinnington colliery, and the site of the former Maltby Colliery that was mothballed in 2013.
Aiming to build as much of the project off-site as possible, the hubs will work by pre-assembling components off-site before transporting them in consolidated loads to Heathrow just as they are needed. This method is expected to boost the project's efficiency and cut emissions by transporting components to site in fewer lorries.
121 sites from across Britain applied for the chance to host a hub and "upskill their communities with a world-class construction legacy for decades to come."
Advertisement
Lord Deighton, chairman of Heathrow, said: "As the UK leaves the EU, Heathrow is an essential infrastructure project that will ensure Britain remains an open trading nation.
"As part of that, Heathrow's third runway will rely on talent from all over Britain helping to create a national asset for generations to come. This means new procurement opportunities for businesses in every region, helping drive growth and investment into local communities in all corners of this country. Our aim, to harness the skills we need through long-term projects such as the Logistics Hubs and Business Summits, will drive jobs and investment leaving a legacy of increased productivity for the construction sector.
"The third runway is not a London centric project – it is one we are opening up to the whole of the UK, asking for its skills and expertise to help build an asset this country so desperately needs to safeguard its future prosperity."
Advertisement
31 East (pictured, top) is being brought forward by experts at St Paul's Developments. With Enterprise Zone status, the 43 acre site on Todwick Road, adjacent to the existing 45 acre Dinnington Business Park, was outlined for a 750,000 sq ft logistics hub.
Updated restoration plans have been approved for Maltby with owners, Hargreaves having the potential for a pocket of development, which includes the pit yard, associated buildings and access, which includes access to rail heads previously used by the colliery.
Sir Nigel Knowles, chairman of the Sheffield City Region LEP, said: "The fact that we have more sites longlisted than any other LEP area in the UK is testament to the excellence we have here in logistics and our reputation for being the home of UK advanced engineering, manufacturing and construction, with an enviable network of local companies built on rich legacy of innovation.
"We are a super-connected city region, at the centre of the national rail and motorway network. Working in partnership with the public and private sector, we are achieving transformational change and building a thriving, successful, economy.
"Our vision is focused on rebalancing the North- South divide and spreading the benefit of major UK infrastructure projects to regenerate our local area. I know the quality exists here to make a success of significant investments such as this, and am hopeful that we will be selected as one of the final four locations."
0 comments:
Post a Comment