By Lizzie Murphy

Published 25th Jan 2023, 17:32 BST

Forty per cent of the £8m latest phase of Ash Way at Thorp Arch Estate near Wetherby, which provides free electricity through roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels, was pre-let during the 11-month construction period with a further 40 per cent with solicitors or under offer.

The speculative development of nine light industrial units, totalling 93,409 sq ft, built for estate owner, Patrizia Hanover Property Unit Trust, has been constructed to be operationally carbon net zero for a typical warehouse occupier and is part of moves to tackle climate change. It is the estate’s first scheme with roof-fitted solar PV panels as standard.

The units also feature audible water leak detection systems, PIR (passive infra-red) sensor-operated LED lighting in both office and warehouse areas and electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

Tim Munns, Wharfedale Property Management director; Daniel Bower, LHL Group director; and Kevin Simon, Castlehouse Construction project manager.

Occupiers are using the new units mainly for distribution and include existing estate tenants, who are expanding, and companies relocating from Leeds, Harrogate, and York and nearby areas.

Tim Munns, Wharfedale Property Management director, said: “Ash Way Phase IV‘s construction started before the Ukraine conflict triggered the spike in fuel prices and cost-of-living crisis and the green technologies will enable tenants to significantly reduce operating costs."

The development, built by Castlehouse Construction, Leeds, and managed by property and construction consultants, LHL Group, York, comprises individual units ranging from 4,031 sq ft to 31,647 sq ft.

Meanwhile, Savills latest Big Shed Briefing, revealed that requirements for industrial and logistics space in Yorkshire and the North East continue to outstrip supply, with the availability of units over 100,000 sq ft now standing at just 2.4 million sq ft.

Tom Asher, industrial and logistics director at Savills Leeds, said: “The chronically low levels of good quality stock has led many occupiers down the build-to-suit route to acquire space, with build-to-suit accounting for 70 per cent of space transacted in 2022 in the region.

Take-up for Yorkshire and the North East reached 10.52 million sq ft in 2022, surpassing the long term annual average by a 88 per cent in spite of the macroeconomic headwinds experienced in the second half of the year.

Almost half of scheme which provides free electricity to occupants is pre-let during construction