Is work starting on site in front of new Amazon 'fulfilment centre' in Dunstable?

When it was announced earlier in May this year that Amazon were opening in Dunstable at a distribution centre that was speculatively built by Prologis on Boscombe Road there was a suggestion that the site in front might be next to be developed.

Today I am moving 2 employees from Amazon into a 2 bedroom apartment in Bramley Court overlooking the site and on my recent visit before they move in I took this photo showing that there is definitely movement.

Prologis invested in the site on Boscombe Road because it believes it to be a strong location for the logistics sector and offers some of the best opportunities for its customers in the South East market. 

At the time Andrew Griffiths, managing director of Prologis UK said “We believe that Dunstable is a strong location for the logistics sector and we are investing in our site on Boscombe Road because it offers some of the best opportunities for our customers in the South East market.”

In May it was mentioned that Prologis are considering building a second warehouse nearby, potentially creating even more jobs in Dunstable.

Caroline Melvin, of Prologis, said: “There’s a plot of land in front of the Amazon building, and that’s what it’s there for.”

Ms Melvin said it wasn’t confirmed yet when the warehouse would be built by Prologis, or if a commercial deal would need to be struck before building work could begin.

I have come across a recent review by Lloyd Spencer of Lambert Smith Hampton titled ‘Luton and Dunstable industrial and logistics review H1 2015’. This shows the growth of companies locating in Luton and Dunstable and below are the main points:

New occupiers come to Luton and Dunstable

• 2014 finished strongly with take-up in the final quarter of 273,000 sq ft compared to 44,700 sq ft from only two deals in the first quarter of 2015.
• The Q2 figures saw a significant boost with the 310,000 sq ft letting of DC1 at Prologis Dunstable to Amazon.
• A further 11 deals totalling 278,000 sq ft meant that take-up at the end of the first half of 2015 reached 633,000 sq ft. Six of these occupiers were new to Luton and Dunstable. At the same point last year, take-up had reached 384,000 sq ft across 19 transactions.