600 new jobs to be created as business park in Luton given green light - and demolition of former Vauxhall headquarters starts
Plans for a new business park in Luton have been approved by Luton Borough Council, with the move promising 600 jobs for the town.
Developer Prologis UK submitted the designs for the Prologis Park Luton to the council, outlining the “new high quality logistics and business park”.
LBC has now approved plans for a 165,000 sq ft building on land next to the 17-acre site in Windmill Road. The development will be carried out in stages, with the first focussing on demolishing the former Vauxhall Motors headquarters, Griffin House, in Osbourne Road; groundworks and “rejuvenating the River Lea”. This work is expected to be completed in May 2025.
Prologis UK will add new pedestrian and cycle paths to run alongside the River Lea, allowing access through the site from Osborne Road to Manor Road.
The recently approved 165,000 sq ft facility would be built on a “build-to-suit basis”, the company explained. And the wider Prologis Park Luton will have more further logistics units sized between 14,000 and 37,000 sq ft. Councillor James Taylor from LBC said: “It’s great to see work underway at Prologis Park Luton. We have been working closely with Prologis since 2022 to bring these proposals to life. This fantastic new development will provide local people with new employment opportunities and businesses with the facilities to grow.
"We’re also pleased that the River Lea will be reinstated to a more natural setting, encouraging wildlife and ecology to re-establish and this links in well with our future plans to open up the river through the town creating new waterside space and a green corridor which will also help improve air quality.”
While Paul Weston, regional head at Prologis UK, said: “We want to make Prologis Park Luton an economic asset for the town, bringing back businesses to the site and creating hundreds of new jobs.
"We’re extremely excited at what this scheme can deliver for the local area, from modern commercial space to support local businesses to our proposed green link that will transform an inaccessible site into an attractive place to walk and cycle through alongside the river.”