On Tuesday 28 November, key voices from across the built environment industry came together for a round table meeting organised by NLA as part of their Industrial and Logistics Programme, hosted by Prologis at their London office.

 

The discussion group comprised local authority officers with policy, regeneration, transport, economy, and urban design backgrounds as well as private sector representatives including investors, occupiers, industrial developers, logistic experts, planners, architects, and landowners.

Context

 

According to the Centre for Retail Research the share of online sales on purchased products in Britain reached 26% in 2022. This compares with 19.2% in the Netherlands and 18.8% in the US. The rise in online shopping and digital activity and associated logistics and data centers, coincides with a significant loss of London’s warehouse space over the last 15 years and has resulted in soaring industrial land values which, in some instances, come close to matching residential values.

 

Once a site has been obtained, large warehouse facilities might face a long planning process. Most warehouses are developed on a speculative basis and adopt neutral design characteristics which in return attract neighbour’s objections relating to appearance.

 

Whilst Britain takes the lead in online purchases, authorities are still working out how to best support this growing sector in a sustainable way. Simultaneously, they must develop new concepts to tackle the decline of local high streets. Currently, each local authority endeavours to address logistics infrastructure within their own area. Existing transport plans are focused on the movement of people rather than goods. Local residents appreciate the convenience of online shopping but are also aware of conflicts between delivery vehicles, active travel networks, and absent infrastructure.

 

 

This Think Tank event sought to identify the challenges of delivering sustainable and attractive logistics sector workplaces which make good neighbours within their host community.

 

There was much common ground in term of the challenges, many not being exclusively related to logistics but also applicable to light industrial buildings:

To address this, a couple of actions emerged from the discussion covering data analysis, policy, urban design, consumer behaviour, and transport:

 

 

The in-person meeting allowed for a dynamic discussion, covering strategic issues but also touching on technical details. The session exposed shortcomings and knowledge gaps both within the public and private sector. 

 

Considering the complexity around logistics, there is plenty of scope to revisit these issues through follow-up events and continue to share experience and report back on progress in relation to the challenges we have identified.