Indurent is proposing an employment park with additional provision of a safe, dedicated lorry park with driver amenities. The site will help Newcastle-under-Lyme Council with meeting its employment targets within the Local Plan, directly creating up to 3,500 high-quality jobs.

The site is south-east of Junction 16 of the M6.

The site is approximately 78ha in size and has the potential to provide approximately 220,000 sq. m of employment space, across multiple buildings ranging in size.

The site is ideally located for employment as it is situated on the M6, meaning there is easy access to the North and South of England and Wales to the West.

Due to its strategic location, there is currently high demand for employment space in the Midlands and the proposed area is the only site within Newcastle-under-Lyme that is large enough to accommodate buildings in excess of 300,000 sq. ft.

This strategic location on the M6 provides an opportunity to develop an employment site with the potential to serve as a major distribution centre, bringing many economic benefits to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The existing layby is unsafe and will be removed. It will be replaced with a dedicated safe and secure on-site lorry park facility with significantly enhanced facilities for HGV drivers.

We are looking to accommodate large industrial and logistics enquiries where there is a real shortage of sites regionally, sub-regionally and locally.

The lack of suitable sites in the local area has resulted in some lost opportunities, both in terms of inward investment and local relocations.

The proposal will offer significant economic benefits to Newcastle-under-Lyme. The plans will deliver approximately £100m – £214m of Gross Value Added per annum to the local economy, as well as approximately £55m of business rates incomes over 20 years

The development will create approximately up to 3,500 new full time equivalent jobs, with 1,200 additional jobs set to be created through the local supply chain. This is subject to the occupiers of the industrial and logistics spaces being confirmed.

The jobs offered will be varied, including roles from senior management to entry level positions. There will be a large proportion of full-time jobs, as well as highly skilled employment opportunities.

Indurent will endeavour to deliver apprenticeship and training opportunities, and work with local education providers to ensure they benefit local people.   

Narrow areas of the site associated with the northern brook are shown to experience flood events. In response to this, a preliminary assessment has been undertaken which included a targeted flood risk assessment and hydraulic modelling exercise to accurately define the baseline conditions and the extents of flood risk.

The proposed development will avoid encroachment into these flood zones to ensure that there are no off-site detrimental flood impacts.

Across the whole development a drainage strategy is being developed which anticipates increased intensities of rainfall due to climate change.

Allowances are made to reduce surface water flows within the site boundary which further decreases flood risk on sensitive downstream receptors.

There are no designations within the site or the immediate vicinity. In the wider area there are listed buildings, however the majority of these have no visual connection with the site. Within 2 – 3km of the site is Cranberry Moss Local Nature Reserve, and two sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (Oakhanger Moss and Black Firs and Cranberry Moss). They would not be affected by the site due to the distance between them.

A detailed acoustic assessment will be completed to identify any likely impact arising from noise and vibration levels associated with the development.  This will inform any mitigation measures which may be required. 

The site is currently within the Green Belt, but if the Local Plan is adopted, the land will be released from the Green Belt.

However, a key part of the proposed scheme is the green infrastructure. This will create permanent and robust landscape buffers along the southern and eastern boundaries whilst enhancing and improving existing vegetation along the northern and western boundaries.

High-quality landscaping will provide a range of public benefits including extensive areas of open space throughout the site, incorporating recreational footpath routes well linked to the existing public right of way network. In addition, opportunities to improve access to the wider Green Belt are being explored.

Indurent is committed to working with Newcastle-under-Lyme District Council, local councillors and the community to design a high-quality strategic employment site which respects and enhances its existing landscape context.

Indurent prides itself on sustainable building practices and has a clear track record for reducing CO2 from all new developments. From design to development, Indurent is constantly looking into ways to reduce carbon emission over the life cycle of a development.

Some measures include:

• Opting for renewable energy infrastructure (such as solar panels)
• Using heat pumps and smart meters
• Delivering EV charging facilities
• Using LED lighting
• Delivering significant landscaping and green infrastructure provision

There would be substantial areas dedicated to green infrastructure, creating a cohesive framework of public open spaces and landscape buffers, wrapping around the proposed built development, and delivering a range of landscape enhancements.

Development will be focused on the areas of existing intensively managed grassland within the site. The existing wildlife corridors through the site (including stream habitat) will be largely retained, protected, and linked to the proposed green infrastructure scheme. The proposals will provide a network of wildlife enhancement incorporating retained hedgerows and other features identified as providing foraging and dispersal corridors for wildlife.

Our proposals are targeting a 10% biodiversity net gain. To achieve biodiversity net gain, a proposal must provide measurable improvements to habitats across the site, which the plans for Junction 16 will achieve. 

The main access into the development has been discussed with National Highways and will be located along the A500 to the east of the existing Junction 16, M6 roundabout junction.

The proposed access is a conventional all movement traffic signal-controlled junction with a right turn lane provision which will accommodate queuing vehicles wishing to access the development.

Lane widening has also been proposed within the Junction 16, M6 circulatory and the A500 west bound carriageway to increased queuing capacity at the existing roundabout. The increased queueing provisions set out to accommodate the additional traffic flows associated with the development on approach to and around the existing junction.

This will be the only vehicular access into the site, aside from emergency access routes. Emergency access routes will only be used in the case of emergencies, and physical measures will be in place to ensure no unauthorised access via these routes.

The potential for rat running associated with the proposed development will be considered through a comprehensive Transport Assessment.

The only access to the site will be from the A500 adjacent to M6 Junction 16.

In addition, walking and cycling improvements will be proposed through Audley and Bignall End. This will offer the additional benefit of discouraging traffic using village roads as cut throughs and helping to lower traffic speeds and improve safety by integrating highway improvement measures.

Given the location of the site in relation to the strategic and local road network, we do not anticipate any additional HGV traffic from the development routing through the villages.

The Traffic in Villages scheme at Audley and Bignall End will likely include measures such as visual narrowing, priority pinch points and gateway features to lower the vehicle speeds and create a stronger definition of place. These will all be subject to local consultation and discussions with the local highway authority.

A new cycle route is being proposed as part of the transport strategy which connects the site to Audley, Bignall End and Newcastle-under-Lyme. The scheme comprises a combination of on-road and off-road facilities, with a comprehensive signing strategy. Speed reduction measures will be implemented where cyclists are accommodated in the carriageway, and a shared provision is provided to the east of Bignall End.