The £8m route linking Station Road and Bellingham Way has been delivered by Panattoni as part of its £180m redevelopment of the 90-acre former Aylesford Newsprint site. Creating more than 1 million sq ft of high quality built-to-suit logistics and distribution space, the park near Junction 4 of the M20 is the South East flagship development of Panattoni, the largest logistics real estate company in the UK and Europe.
As a result of the new bypass, all non-HGV traffic destined for Panattoni Park Aylesford or New Hythe Business Park can now access them via junctions 4, 5 and 6 on the M20, via Bellingham Way and Station Road.
The ribbon was cut by Matt Boughton, Leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Tony Watkins, Panattoni’s Head of Development for the South East and London, and Leader of Kent County Council Roger Gough.
Above the developing Panattoni Park Aylesford
Speaking at the event, Mr Gough said: “What this does is to ensure that all the tremendous activity that is going on here at the Panattoni site can take place whilst not having the spillover effect on the local community.
“This is an enormously positive development that has come forward at speed, and it is fantastic that a company like Panattoni is making a huge commitment to Kent. We’re heading towards 4,000 new jobs now, so many of the initial indications in terms of investment and employment opportunities have either been or are being exceeded.
"It is a sign of the scale of this operation, a big and complex one, and one in which local partners - the borough council, the county council and other organisations - have sought to work with Panattoni to ensure that all the benefits of this come through at the same time as it being a good neighbour to local people and making a huge contribution in other areas too, including its future-proofing on environmental matters. There are immense opportunities in this and this today is something to be celebrated."
The site is now home to Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, DHL, the global logistics company, Evri, the UK’s biggest dedicated parcel delivery company, Fowler Welch, the temperature-controlled logistics company, and Marley, a UK leader in the manufacture and supply of pitched roof systems to the construction market.
Planning permission has also recently been granted for the development of 630,000 sq ft to be constructed on the site. The only remaining space is Plot 6A which offers the design and build of a further 16,500 sq ft of space for another logistics industry business.
Notes for editors
As part of an agreement with Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council during the planning process, Panattoni will support the refurbishment of the Aylesford and New Hythe railway stations. It will also extend the provision of local bus services in the area, and put new cycle paths and footpaths in place.
The existing buildings on the site have been built to achieve high environmental performance. DHL’s building is a net zero carbon facility with a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ and an EPC rating of ‘A+’ to support its last-mile facility serving the South East.
The 97,891 sq ft building taken by Fowler Welch incorporates a 1.5MVA photovoltaic array covering the roof, a bespoke car park canopy and cycle shelter. The peak electrical output from the solar panels is equal to the incoming supply, which means the Fowler Welch facility will be able to operate fully from the power generated onsite.
