Insider Media Limited

Up to 1,000 new jobs could be brought to Corby after Legal & General Property’s Industrial Property Investment Fund (IPIF) was granted permission to build its planned 900,000 sq ft distribution warehouse.

Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Northamptonshire Chamber, told Insider the development, named Cor!!, would be a "significant boost" to Corby's economy.

The rail-connected, cross-docked unit will be created on the company's 70-acre former Gefco UK Car Storage site on Geddington Road.

The scheme will include a single warehouse unit of 880,754 sq ft and 40,000 sq ft of office space. Car and lorry parking spaces have also been designed.

The site, which will be created by Warwickshire-based warehouse specialist Roxhill Developments, comes complete with its own rail head which is already in place.

Jonathan Holland, senior fund manager at Legal & General Property, said: "We are extremely pleased to have secured planning consent for this strategically important distribution warehouse location.

"There are very few competing sites which benefit from the scale, flexibility and connectivity of this site, with the added benefit of having a rail head in situ which connects it to the Port of Felixstowe.

"Now that we have consent, we will be able to take forward discussions with a number of interested parties."

Legal & General, which first submitted plans for the development in May this year, said the new development with bring 1,000 jobs to the area.

Paul Griffiths said: "Northamptonshire is an attractive location for businesses with its good road and rail links and Corby is an area that has seen considerable redevelopment in recent years and this is still ongoing.

"If this warehouse goes ahead and creates 1,000 jobs of mixed skill levels as planned, this will be a significant boost to the town’s economy and will help to get some unemployed individuals back into the workplace.

"Our latest quarterly economic survey results showed that the Northants economy was improving and that jobs were being created. Here is another example of this. Long may it continue."

Burbage Realty, CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle have been appointed to market the scheme.

Legal & General Property is a wholly-owned subsidiary of asset manager and investor Legal & General Investment Management.

The investor manages about £362bn of assets on behalf of more than 3,300 clients.