Plans underway for an energy-efficient industrial unit in Portsmouth

Plans are underway to replace an outdated warehouse unit at a Portsmouth industrial estate with one of the greenest buildings of their kind in the region.

Subject to planning consent from the local authority, vacant 120,477 sq ft Unit B at Railway Triangle in Walton Road, Drayton, would be demolished. A sustainable 106,498 sq ft leasehold industrial warehouse unit would be built in its place, including offices, with a targeted BREEAM Excellent rating, EPC A and a Fitwel-enabled building.

The industrial warehouse on the ground floor would be 98,888 sq ft (GEA) warehouse, with ground floor and offices on the first and second floors. Property consultancy Vail Williams is joint agent of Railway Triangle with LSH on behalf of DTZ Investors.

Alex Gauntlett, a surveyor and associate working from Vail Williams’ Portsmouth office at Lakeside North Harbour, said: “A retrofit of vacant Unit B, to bring the premises up to latest energy efficiency measures, would be cost-prohibitive; its lifespan has come to an end. The plans are for a much-needed Grade A replacement which meets and exceeds latest energy efficiency regulations for commercial property.”

Subject to planning permission, there would be 107 parking spaces, four loading doors, eight dock levellers, minimum eaves-to-haunch of 12m, a cycle store, EV charging, PV panels, improved biodiversity and an energy-efficient heating and cooling system for the offices.

From next April, to avoid breaching the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES), landlords can only let a commercial property that has an EPC rating of E or above – and this rises to C in 2027 and B in 2030. Anything below E is considered sub-standard.

Alex said: “This is rightly focusing minds right across the country and industry research shows that an estimated 120 million sq ft of commercial property in England will fail MEES from next April.”

He added: “Railway Triangle has always been a sought-after location because of its transport links and international ferry routes. We are already close to full occupancy with the other units and we are confident that companies will be interested in leasing Unit B if it is a brand-new building which ticks all the boxes, including sustainability.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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