Castleford Tigers and Axiom Yorkshire’s plans for a major upgrade to the Wheldon Road stadium and a significant new employment development on the Axiom site, at Junction 32 on the M62, have been recommended for approval by Planning Officers and will be discussed at Wakefield Council’s Planning Committee on Thursday 15 February. If planning is approved for both projects, the circa £200 million Axiom Yorkshire proposals will deliver new employment, logistics and manufacturing floorspace, providing around 1,830 permanent full-time jobs in Castleford, with a further 365 ‘spin-off’ jobs created within the Wakefield Council area. Furthermore, during construction approximately 1,500 on and off-site construction jobs per year are likely to be generated at both Wheldon Road and the Axiom employment site. Once fully operational, this significant job creation at the Axiom site is calculated to generate around £142 million of local economic activity per year. The Axiom site will also provide approximately £3.2 million per year of additional Business Rates when fully occupied. In addition to major economic benefits for Castleford and the surrounding area, the Axiom proposals would provide £12.2 million of funding towards major upgrades at Castleford Tigers’ Wheldon Road home. With a further £2 million from Wakefield Council’s Rugby League Resilience Fund, improvements to the Wheldon Road stadium will bolster the club’s ability to meet the Grade A status required to secure long-term Super League status. The plans will deliver a much improved matchday experience for fans, players and officials alike. Proposed improvements to Wheldon Road include a new all-seater main stand and refurbishment of the three existing stands. A new banqueting suite and corporate hospitality function will help the club to generate much-needed additional revenue, including on non-matchdays. An upgraded stadium will also enable the Castleford Tigers Foundation to deliver additional work of social value in the community, which has been calculated as being worth the equivalent of an extra £19.6 million of spending per year. Axiom will also deliver £15 million of highways improvements to the Junction 32 roundabout. According to the Council’s planning committee report, the Wheldon Road proposals have been supported by 2,256 people and the Axiom application has had 2,101 representations in support. Mark Grattan, Castleford Tigers RLFC Managing Director said: “Everyone knows how important the club is to the town and we take seriously our responsibility to maintain professional rugby in Castleford. However, it is no secret that the available money within the sport is diminishing. “Without significant external funding, like that offered by the Axiom proposals, there is no realistic prospect of us raising the money required to pay for the major improvements to our stadium which are necessary over the long term. “In turn, significantly improved banqueting and hospitality facilities will help us to substantially increase non-matchday income to the benefit of the club. We are also desperately keen to improve facilities for supporters with disabilities. The proposed stadium improvements will also deliver a new base for the Tigers Foundation which does so much important work within our community. “It is critically important that we secure approval for both the planning application for the Wheldon Road improvements and the Axiom proposals which pay for them.” A spokesperson for Axiom Yorkshire, owners of the Junction 32 site said: “We are pleased that both planning applications have been recommended for approval by Wakefield Council’s Planning Officers. If approved the Axiom proposals alone will deliver around 2,200 permanent jobs, alongside further jobs at the stadium and during the construction period. “The cumulative beneficial impact of this level of job creation, combined with the social-economic benefits to the area and the circa £142 million boost to the Wakefield economy, will deliver significant and lasting benefits for Castleford. It is now for planning committee members to make their decision on both applications.” The planning application for the Axiom site at Junction 32 proposes development of up to 141,085 sq m of employment floorspace, across approximately 13 units of varying sizes. The development will benefit from a total of 22 acres of public open space and landscaping, which will help to minimise the visual impacts of the development. In total, some 40,000 new trees will be planted and around 3 miles of new public paths and cycle routes provided, opening the site up for community use and linking residential areas to the east of the site with Xscape, Junction 32 Outlet Centre and Glasshoughton railway station. Wheldon Road will benefit from a new all-seater main stand. As well as much improved ‘back of house’ sporting facilities for players and officials, a banqueting suite and corporate hospitality function rooms will provide new opportunities for income generation. Upgraded facilities at Wheldon Road will deliver major improvements to be enjoyed by all fans, including new catering facilities and toilets. Importantly, improved accessibility and much enhanced viewing areas will transform the matchday experience for fans with disabilities.

Steel still dominates as the structural framing material of choice with market share growth in key UK construction sectors in 2023, according to an independent survey. The 2023 Construction Markets’ survey, commissioned by the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) and marketers Steel for Life, looked at non-residential multi-storey, non-residential single storey and residential buildings. The key non-residential multi-storey sector includes offices, retail, leisure, health and education. BCSA Chief Executive Officer David Moore said: “The survey shows that steel remains the preferred choice of the UK construction market across all the building types analysed. With the total UK consumption of constructional steel in 2023 at 893,000 tonnes, it is clear that steel has out-performed other framing materials and retained its market share in some areas and increased it in others. “The cost-effectiveness of steel, its adaptability, speed of construction and contribution to the circular economy through reuse and recycling are all factors that continue to be valued by developers, contractors, designers and building users alike. “I’m confident that future market share surveys will continue to illustrate the dominance of steel as a framing material.” British Steel Commercial Director Ben Cunliffe said: “British Steel would entirely support the BCSA comments regarding steel being the material of choice, which is around 70% of commercial buildings whereas in Europe its concrete dominated with steel share less than 30%.”

Occupier take up of industrial units in Yorkshire has settled back to pre-pandemic levels, says Knight Frank.

The latest Yorkshire Industrial LOGIC report compiled by commercial property experts Knight Frank concluded that in 2023, occupational transactions in South Yorkshire was focused on units under 250,000 sq ft, with distribution firms dominating over half of the annual take-up totalling 1.3m sq ft.

Whilst in West Yorkshire, take-up recovered from the record low level of 909,000 sq ft posted in 2022 to 1.6 million sq ft last year, mainly due to a steady delivery of new speculative space to the market.

Knight Frank anticipate demand across the size spectrum in 2024 with a continued focus on quality and prime locations.

Headline rental growth is expected to remain positive and move forward, with average growth of 3.3% forecast for 2024 for Yorkshire & the Humber – with a 4.06% forecast for Sheffield and 3.48% forecast for Leeds (RealFor).

Across Yorkshire, occupiers continued to prioritise quality and ESG standards with new builds and second hand, good quality grade A space proving most popular.

Talking about South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire, Rebecca Schofield, partner and head of the Yorkshire industrial team at Knight Frank, said: “2023 take-up was more in line with pre pandemic transaction levels, with the majority of units let being sub-250,000 sq ft.

“There was a shortage of larger transactions last year with third-party logistics companies (3PLs) almost absent from the market. Many had their own surplus ‘grey’ space to back fill, which was their main focus.”

Looking ahead for 2024 Rebecca added: “We have started to see a number of new requirements enter the market across the size spectrum, which we hope to see move forward during the first half 2024. We have seen demand for space from 3PLs, end occupiers and manufacturers.

“The region has seen a number of new development completions, along with second-hand stock returning to the market, resulting in a healthy supply of buildings, giving occupiers a wider choice. The requirements in the market appear serious about acquiring premises but decision making is taking a little longer.

“Key occupier deals in South Yorkshire last year included Gem Imports acquiring 186,000 sq ft at Arrow 186 in Barnsley; Butternut Box taking 132,750 sq ft at Symmetry Park in Doncaster, and JLA acquiring 109,000 sq ft at Mirastar’s new Catalyst development J33 M1.” 

Reviewing West Yorkshire & the Humber industrial sector, Iain McPhail, partner in Knight Frank’s Leeds office, said: “We have witnessed a ‘flight to prime’ from occupiers over the last 12 months, with well-located developments with good motorway links and high ESG credentials attracting a good deal of interest, for example, Leeds Valley Park and Velocity Point, both in Leeds.

“While occupiers continued to display a sense of cost conservatism, the steady delivery of new, speculative space to the market towards the last quarter of 2023 has created more choice and contributed to a gradual recovery in take up from its record low in 2022.

“Key occupier deals in West Yorkshire and the Humber region in 2023 included Advanced Supply Chain’s pre-let of  230,000 sq ft at Super B Cleckheaton; XPO’s move to 211,364 sq ft at Voltaic in Wakefield; IFCO’s 153,323 sq ft pre-let at Prism Park in Wakefield; and Siemens Mobility’s pre-let of 94,841 sq ft at Point 36 in Goole.

“A significant volume of new build space reached practical completion during the final quarter of 2023 (c. 1.3 million sq ft, units 50,000 sq ft+). Consequently, the supply of immediately available space steeply rose to 4.2 million sq ft by year-end, increasing the vacancy rate from 4.3% in Q3 to 6.3% in Q4. However, 22% of this available space is currently under offer.”

Looking ahead at 2024 he added: “Several new build mid-box units are under offer in the region, which will see quoting rents increase again from £8.75 per sq ft to circa £9.50 per sq ft in early-mid 2024.

“Similar to South Yorkshire, after a quiet 2023 from the 3PL market in the region, we are starting to see more contract-led requirements return, so expect more activity in this sector.

“New development is being hindered by the absence of speculative institutional funding with the exception of Baytree Developments’ two unit proposed speculative development in south Leeds which should commence shortly. Consequently, we expect the medium-term pipeline of units over 50,000 sq ft to remain constrained in the region, adding to the view that rental growth may continue to steadily rise.”

Construction has begun on a Starbucks drive-thru café at Europarc, the business location on the south bank of the Humber. The coffee house will serve the growing community of workers and visitors to developer Wykeland Group’s Europarc business park in Grimsby. The 1,800 sq ft, single storey drive-thru and eat-in café will have additional external seating and 22 car parking spaces, including four electric vehicle charging bays. Construction work has now begun, with the facility expected to open its doors this summer. Having successfully taken the Starbucks facility through the planning process, securing approval from North East Lincolnshire Council, Wykeland has sold the site to property and development company Burney Group, which will deliver and let the café to Starbucks franchise K Beverage. Wykeland Development Director Jonathan Stubbs said: “The arrival of Starbucks will add to the appeal of Europarc and provide a high quality new facility for employees and visitors to enjoy. “Europarc is firmly established as the location of choice on the south bank of the Humber for leading businesses and we continue to see strong demand from companies keen to invest on site. “Having worked closely with Burney Group in securing planning approval, we’re delighted to have concluded a deal to sell the land, which enables the new Starbucks drive-thru café to be taken forward and delivered. “Burney Group has a proven track record of delivering high-quality roadside retail developments of this kind across the UK, including a number of other Starbucks drive-thrus. They share our commitment to job creation and economic development and it’s been a pleasure to work with them on this project.” Developed and owned by Wykeland, Europarc has more than 800,000 sq ft of business space, with over 2,500 people employed on site. Blue chip occupiers include supermarket giant Morrisons, Humber Seafood Institute, Ultimate Packaging, the Hain Daniels Group and 2 Sisters Food Group.