Planning Consent Granted For Mossend International Railfreight Park

Peter D. Stirling Ltd (PDS) and Carnbroe Estates (Carnbroe), advised by property consultant CBRE, Ryden and Ironside Farrar, have secured planning permission in principle from the Scottish Government for the Mossend International Railfreight Park project.

The project, an expansion of the current Mossend Railhead terminal, and the creation of a unique rail freight enabled logistics park will bring a strategic and modern rail facility to Scotland, with connections to the UK and mainland Europe.

The grant of permission will help deliver the Scottish Government’s own Economic Strategy for Scotland (March 2015) the key provisions of which are a much boarder approach to boosting competitiveness, the private sector’s contribution to achieving economic growth, and the four priority areas of investment, innovation, inclusive growth and internationalisation.

Located beside Bellshill, the Mossend development has the potential to generate 2,220 construction jobs and 2,700 full time operational roles in a range of occupations for the local area.

Capable of creating significant benefits for Scotland’s economy, the expansion will include a 775m long European-class electrified rail terminal, 2.2m sqft of space to include manufacturing, distribution and logistics service operations, a new access road to the A8 to the north of the site and a network of community greenspace. More than 70 acres of woodland, pathways and cycle routes will form part of the development.

Building a sustainable green legacy for the Bellshill area, the creation of this new railfreight hub with direct access to the strategic road network and will remove all associated HGV traffic from the local road network, as well as bringing a more efficient and sustainable alternative to long haul road transport.

Andrew Stirling from PDS said: “The expansion of our existing facility will offer a unique rail freight enabled logistics proposition for Scotland. Proximity to the upgraded M8, capacity for more than 2.2m sqft of warehousing and an ability to take electric trains of 775m length will bring economic benefits alongside reduced CO2 emissions.”

“Mossend Rail Terminal has already proved successful for traditional warehousing and distribution and the creation of the significantly larger International Rail Freight Terminal will offer a new and complementary product.

The Scottish Government’s decision to invest in the M8/A8 Improvement Scheme has been the catalyst to allow PDS and Carnbroe to bring forward this major investment proposal. In parallel with the M8/A8 works we will take forward discussions with both investors and occupiers who we anticipate will be receptive to this major opportunity.”

CBRE’s National Industrial Agency and Scottish teams have been supporting PDS and Carnbroe. Doug Smith, Chairman Scotland, said: “There are few opportunities to create an integrated logistics hub of this scale, quality and economic significance around the UK. We are delighted that with planning permission in principle now secured we can assist PDS and Carnbroe in the next stages of its development, securing investment, activity and employment for the local area.

We will be looking to put in place much of the arrangements for the development of the Park in time for the completion of the M8/A8 Improvement Scheme in 2017.”