EXCLUSIVE: Property rivals for East Midlands Freeport site

By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters

WHILE MAG seems to have stolen the limelight with its announcement regarding Prologis being championed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week in her speech on the UK’s economic growth, SEGRO this week was given the greenlight to progress its Development Consent Order for its East Midlands Gateway 2 scheme that incorporates the MAG site in its entirety.

Logistics Matters reported on the controversy in October last year.

The MAG/Prologis site is part of the East Midlands Airport & Gateway Industrial Cluster, and the outline application being brought forward by MAG is likely to be superseded – although that is not guaranteed - by the larger more comprehensive scheme being put through the DCO process by SEGRO, which owns the 5 million ft2 East Midlands Gateway development to the north of the of the site and has historic options on surrounding land to extend.

The overall East Midlands Gateway 2 (EMG2) scheme envisions up to 4.628 million ft2 of industrial, manufacturing and logistics  space including  mezzanine space providing some 4,000 jobs and a £325 million investment into the area. The buildings with eaves heights ranging from 15 – 24m will be highly sustainable  and models of excellence in design and functionality. There will be expansions and improvement to the strategic rail freight terminal at EMG1 and significant  road improvements as well as extensive landscaping areas and buffers along EMG2's boundaries, including new landscape features and biodiversity enhancements.

Right now there is a period of statutory consultation being held which concludes 17 March 2025 at the same time  the outline proposals for the MAG scheme are progressing with North West Leicestershire Council.

The 1.5 million ft2 MAG/Prologis scheme, if approved, will bring up to 2,000 new jobs, £132m of economic growth per year (GVA) to the East Midlands, whilst contributing £9m of additional business rates.

As part of the partnership, Prologis is set to deliver a dedicated centre for logistics job training and education in Leicestershire. The centre will host the Prologis Warehousing and Logistics Training programme – providing local people with the skills and experiences needed to begin and progress their career in logistics.

Similarly to the EMG2 proposals the MAG/Prologis park will incorporate industry-leading standards of sustainability in its design, construction, and management. During construction, embodied carbon will be measured, reduced and mitigated aligned with the UKGBC net-zero carbon framework. In operation, the buildings at the park will have a net-zero regulated energy use in line with an EPC A+ rating.

Commenting on the two schemes, an East Midlands Freeport spokesperson said: “We have been aware of both organisations’ plans for the site for some time, and both partners remain committed to achieving the objectives of our business case which sees the fullest extent of our tax sites developed, however, the manner in which this is achieved is down to our individual partners to decide. The Freeport will be transformative for the East Midlands economy when fully developed and working collaboratively with all our partners, we can realise our ambition of creating 20,000 + jobs for the region.”

A spokesperson for SEGRO commented that the alternative scheme being progressed by Manchester Airport Group does not affect the DCO application process. “SEGRO is developing plans for the entire site to realise the full vision of the Freeport, maximise job creation and economic benefit, and deliver investment in infrastructure beyond the development itself, which is only financially viable if the whole site is progressed. As part of the DCO application, SEGRO is currently underway with a thorough programme of public consultation events, ahead of its submission to MHCLG in Q2 2025, with determination anticipated in Q4 2026. If successful, SEGRO will start work immediately in 2027 to deliver the project within the Freeport window.

The East Midlands Freeport is set to generate some 28,000 jobs and add around £9 billion to the value of the East Midlands economy over the next 25 years and its ambitions rest on the development of some 15 million ft2 of industrial and logistics space across three sites totalling 1,300 acres to do it.

Freeports are similar to free zones, or ‘enterprise zones’, which are designated areas subject to a broad array of special regulatory requirements, tax breaks and government support. The difference is that a Freeport is designed to specifically encourage businesses that import, process and then re-export goods. A freeport customs site is a secure, enclosed customs zone where a business can import or export goods inside the UK’s land border but where different import or export rules apply and remain subject to robust ongoing oversight from HMRC. To be eligible to operate as a customs site, businesses need to be within 45km of the freeport

The three sites: East Midlands Airport & Gateway Industrial Cluster, East Midlands Intermodal Park, and the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power station redevelopment site benefit from a zero rate of secondary national insurance contributions for freeport employees, enhanced capital allowance for plant and machinery, enhanced structures and buildings allowance, and relief from both stamp duty land tax and business rates until 2031.

But getting these sites up and running, in a relatively tight time frame when planning can take years to secure, is an issue. All three sites are being put forward as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects as they meet the criteria set out by government to allow any planning application to be considered to be so big and nationally important that permission to build them needs to be given at a national rather than regional or local level.

The EMF spokesperson added: “Our mission is to act as a catalyst for economic regeneration across the East Midlands. We will achieve this by attracting international investment to all three of our sites, including the development site south of the airport.