East Midlands Northamptonshire
Simon Toseland
I’ve been lucky enough to have some 40 years working in the regional property sector – so what’s my view ? Well, as my old colleague John Burbage once said of Northamptonshire (some 35 years ago), ‘it’s in the middle of the Country and unlikely to move’. His point being, that in terms of the logistics industry, Northamptonshire was perfectly placed to service the distribution market and I think we can all agree that it’s cer-
tainly achieved this. But what else has it done? The huge growth in the logistics industry has created tens of thousands of jobs. With that, the demand for housing has seen significant urban extensions in all the County’s towns and many of the villages. Of course, the increase in popu- lation should have generated demand for our town centres but the irony of the growth in logistics is that much of it has been generated to serve
‘on-line’ retailing. So our town centres have struggled, and continue to do so. There are exceptions to the decline in physical retailing – well, one exception. Rushden Lakes. A one stop shopping experience, combining large scale retailing with food and entertainment, drawing people from not just from the County but from much further afield.
The office market within Northamptonshire was historically polarised around Northampton itself. Prior to Covid there were signs of a gentle preference building towards Milton Keynes and then Covid struck. By the time the majority of restrictions were lifted, working from home had engrained itself into the psyche of many employees and businesses. From that point the office market plunged into crisis and whilst there are signs of a return to working from formal office space, the way people work has changed with attitudes and the digitalisation of communication opening up new working practices.
Many of the larger office ‘blocks’ have been reconfigured through per- mitted development to provide for residential flats. Even smaller office buildings have been absorbed in this way. The result is that the availa- bility of quality office accommodation is extremely limited, to the point where occupier demand now outstrips supply. Those office buildings that survived are now letting / selling, putting further pressure on supply. For the moment, the cost of building exceeds the return on investment, so this challenge will not be met soon. So, what is Northamptonshire’s future growth to be? Obviously logistics remains a strong sector but there are signs of growth in manufacturing.
The County has a strong base in food and drink production and a small (but focused) tradition in engineering. These sectors have ‘weathered’ economic cycles and epidemic challenges and with careful nurturing, along with the confirmed ambition of the Local Authority, we are see- ing increased activity in manufacturing (notwithstanding the obstacles introduced by the current government). But perhaps the most excit- ing evolution for the County’s future lies in the future itself. The recent announcement of the construction of an AI ‘supercomputer’ at Chelveston Innovation and Energy Park represents an initial investment of £1 Billion into the County. The opportunities for growth in this sector (using sustain- able energy supplies) are exciting for sure, but also very real.
Perhaps the ultimate success (past and future) of Northamptonshire is its diversity in employment economics – and the fact that it isn’t going to move !
THE PYRAMID, BRIXWORTH • Built by Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team • 10,800 sq ft office headquarters (with expansion potential to over 13,000 sq ft) • To Let (May Sell)
CHELVESTON RENEWABLE ENERGY & INNOVATION PARK • 500,000-panel solar array, 9 turbines, green hydrogen production • Up to 200 GWh on-site generation • Buildings 20,000–400,000 sq ft with direct-wire power from the Energy Park
2 – 10 BARON AVENUE, EARLS BARTON • 43,848 sq ft refurbished factory/warehouse To Let • 1 MW power supply • Prime location midway between Wellingborough and Northampton
18-20 BRADFIELD ROAD, WELLINGBOROUGH • 111,645 sq ft manufacturing facility on 5.8 acres • Manufacturing facility • To Let (May Sell)
DOWNLOAD DETAILS AND FURTHER INFORMATION AT:
WWW.PROP-SEARCH.COM 22 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2025
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