Logistics development partners Opus North and Bridges Fund Management have gained outline planning for a half-million square feet scheme at City Fields in Wakefield.

The partners will now submit a reserved matters application for enabling works on the 31-acre site. This will include site clearance and plateau preparation as well as drainage and utility installation works.

Subject to this approval, works are scheduled to begin in early 2024 with the first phase of construction focused on a drive-thru plot, followed by circa 80,000 square feet of industrial buildings with the aim of the first building to complete in late 2024.

The approved scheme will run adjacent to the £33m Wakefield Eastern Relief Road and will support the regeneration of the wider City Fields community.

The planning approval gives consent for urban logistics, as well as industrial accommodation in a varied range of unit sizes.

The development will incorporate a number of sustainable features to reduce emissions and mitigate occupier costs, targeting BREEAM ‘Very Good’ and EPC A as a minimum.

Guy Bowden, partner at Bridges Fund Management, said: “City Fields is one of the most exciting development opportunities in the region. We’re looking forward to transforming this site into a highly sustainable commercial and industrial hub, with a range of ‘build to suit’ units of different sizes.

“This will help to address the clear regional shortage of high-quality space, while also enabling occupiers to achieve their own ESG goals and supporting the transition to Net Zero.”