UK – A major new inland port development for the UK has received the green light after three major developers agreed the funding and development plan between them, according to the Financial Times.
The FT states that construction on the £400 million Rossington Inland Port will begin in 2012, with facilities and occupation options being available the same year. The project is anticipated to create 5,500 jobs in the area.
Developed in cooperation between Helios Europe, Shepherd Developments and Segro, Rossington will feature bonded warehouses and customs clearance facilities as well as a massive rail freight and intermodal handling area that will link the English East-coast ports with an inland location, ideal for retail operations and centralised logistics.
A new road, for which £18 million funding has already been granted by the government, will link the development directly to the M18 motorway.
According to the FT the developers have already had talks with port operator Hutchison Whampoa concerning the operation of the rail freight connections, with direct rail links to Hutchinson’s port at Felixstowe.
This would allow freight to be run straight from the port to Doncaster with minimal delay as customs clearance could be obtained once the goods were in Rossington Inland Port. This in turn could lead to a substantial reduction in road traffic on East Anglia’s overstretched roads as lorries would no longer need to use these long standing bottle necks.
Mike Hughes, chief executive of Helios Europe, is quoted as claiming that the development will “…provide our international clients with facilities that are truly transport ‘future proofed’.”
http://www.helioslough.com/inlandport/index.html
