A huge underground warehouse that would have enough space for 25 football pitches is being planned for west London.
Formal Investments has submitted plans to Hounslow council to build the warehouse measuring 2m sq ft as part of a project called Rectory Farm, near Cranford and Heston, which is designated as greenbelt. The underground warehouse could serve as a key logistics hub for Heathrow airport.
The plans also include a 110-acre landscaped park above the warehouse that would be the largest new public park in west London for a century.
The development of the warehouse, reported in Estates Gazette, would be carried out in phases and will use a special construction method called “Sealed Top Down Construction”, where work takes place beneath a reinforced concrete slab, which will have been laid beforehand, with the park on top.
If approved, building work could begin as early as 2018, and it will take seven to ten years to build.
Bridget Outtrim, director at Savills, which is advising on the development, told Estates Gazette: “We are aiming to attract a large national occupier who might not otherwise expect to locate in such a prime location and we will get lots of interest because of the scale.”
The site is 110 acres of land that is classified as green belt, meaning that building above ground is restricted.
Image: www.formalinvestments.com
