Harworth gets planning permission for Leeds brownfield site

Harworth Group has secured planning permission from the North Yorkshire Council for a major industrial and logistics hub, it announced on Friday, at its 185-acre Gascoigne Interchange site in Leeds.

The London-listed firm said the development, covering up to 1.5 million square feet, aligned with its strategy to expand its industrial and logistics space from its extensive landbank, with an anticipated gross development value of up to £190m.

It said the project would entail building seven units, ranging from 57,000 to one million square feet, all built to grade-A specifications.

Harworth planned to start work on the site in 2025.

The brownfield site, located in Selby near the Sherburn Industrial Estate, was notable for its strategic location and rail connectivity, providing future occupants access to the mainline rail network for various uses, including low-carbon freight transport.

Gascoigne Interchange is accessible via junction 42 of the A1(M), and includes extensive rail sidings adjacent to Network Rail's Leeds-to-Hull mainline route.

The setup included operational connections to both northern and southern plots, facilitating the potential creation of a dedicated railhead capable of handling diverse freight services.

Harworth said the site’s southern plots had 1,200 metres of frontage along the mainline, suitable for a significant intermodal terminal for on-site and off-site customers.

The strategic location and sustainable design of the units was expected to drive strong demand in the Yorkshire region, supported by Knight Frank's forecast.

Harworth said the lack of speculative institutional funding and a growing tenant preference for sustainable spaces further bolstered the expected demand for the development.

“Our development at Gascoigne Interchange is another example of Harworth's unique ability to identify, acquire and transform brownfield sites to generate value, create jobs and increase investment in the region,” said chief executive officer Lynda Shillaw.

“This development complements Harworth's extensive pipeline of industrial and logistics sites and we continue to see high demand for high-specification strategically-connected grade-A industrial space.”

At 0813 BST, shares in Harworth Group were up 2.37% at 141.78p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.