Leicestershire Warehousing Study

MDST was commissioned to forecast future new-build rates for large scale warehousing in Leicestershire and the wider East Midlands to 2041, alongside a qualitative assessment of key issues affecting the sector, including decarbonisation of the supply chain, the growth of e-commerce and rail freight.

• Reviewed current planning/transport policy and various previous studies;
• Produced a qualitative assessment of key issues affecting the logistics sector, including decarbonisation of the supply chain, the growth of e-commerce and rail freight;
• Quantified existing large-scale warehouse floor space capacity nationally, in the East Midlands by local authority and in Leicestershire;
• Forecast future new-build rates to 2041, taking into account the need to replace a proportion of the existing capacity (due to it becoming life-expired) and traffic growth. This process was informed by MDS Transmodal’s warehouse database (existing capacity) and the GB Freight Model (forecast traffic growth);
• Compared existing land supply (including rail-served sites) with the forecast new-build rates, thereby determining the quantum of new land that will need to be brought forward to 2041 in local plans (including land at rail-served sites);
• Recommended key areas of opportunity (i.e. where new land should be brought forward); and
• Provided advice on drafting new local plan policies on phasing and sequencing.