The new Labour Government is powering ahead with a radical agenda that includes a major overhaul of our cumbersome and outdated planning system. The new Planning Reform Bill, announced in the King’s Speech in July, aims to accelerate the development of critical infrastructure as well as the construction of 1.5 million homes. This bill, one of 40 legislative proposals, seeks to streamline the planning system, ensuring a faster and more efficient approval process for major projects.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said ‘We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country’, a sentiment that we heartily endorse, and we are keen to ensure this benefits the warehousing and logistics sector.
Warehouses are critical infrastructure. They are essential hubs within supply chains for food, clothing and just about every product that gets delivered to homes, businesses and public services every day. Every new residential building is a new delivery point, so the proposal for 1.5 million new homes clearly requires a commensurate increase in strategically located warehousing space. Take-up of new logistics properties may have slowed since the unprecedented growth of 2021, but recent reports suggest an increase since 2023. Big brands like Amazon and The Range are active in the logistics property market and Nike are taking 1.3m sq ft in Corby.
Many 3PLs are concerned by too much unoccupied space in their sites across the UK, but the bigger picture, shown in our 2024 Report into the size and make-up of the UK warehousing sector, is that over the last decade warehousing has experienced sustained growth that has generated jobs and made a significant contribution to the national economy. It is vital, therefore, that the government’s zeal for rebuilding our country recognises the potential of our sector to boost growth and productivity, and prioritises us accordingly.
As well as location, tenants are demanding the right eaves height, environmental credentials and welfare facilities, reducing the appeal of many second-hand buildings. There is a shortage of properties that are fit for purpose, while local authorities remain stubbornly averse to granting permission for the construction of large buildings like warehouses, despite the economic and societal benefits they bring, such as local employment. Along with other trade bodies, UKWA is calling on Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP to redress the balance in allocation for housing and industrial use, recognising the link between industrial land and quality of life.
There is certainly cause for optimism. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has already opened a consultation seeking views on revising the National Planning Policy Framework. Unlike previous planning consultations, this one specifically mentions freight and logistics – ‘given their importance to our economic future’.
UKWA will be seizing this window of opportunity to ensure the views of the industry are heard and will be keeping up the pressure on our policy makers!
Clare Bottle
UKWA, CEO
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