M25 house moves
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WHEN the M25 London orbital route is completed, companies will move their warehousing premises from inner London and closer to the motorway or its connections, according to a joint report published by town planning specialist Nathaniel Litchfield and Partners and chartered surveyor and investment consultant Goldstein Leigh.
At the moment warehouses on land near to the M25 to the west of London are more valuable than those to the east, but the report forecasts a levelling out of land values.
The report predicts heavy increases in development at Grays and Dagenham in Essex, Dartford, Kent and Redbridge on the London/Essex borders.
There are 50 "areas of opportunity" for developments adjacent to the M25, but green belt planning restrictions could prevent such developments in Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and especially Kent, according to the report. In these restricted growth areas older property will be increasingly attractive for redevelopment or refurbishment purposes, it says.
The Freight Transport Association told CM it agrees there will be more interest in developing sites alongside the completed M25, but it wonders if local authorities would consent to warehouse developments.
The report went on to warn that only those companies serving central London markets will retain their distribution centres in the capital. The completion of the M25 could speed up the trend of some industries concentrating on London's outskirts, it claimed.