The announcement of the departure of Honda from Swindon in February 2019 came as a bombshell.
But many people said it was unlikely that the South Martson site would lie unused for any length of time – it is well placed near a town with a large and skilled workforce, and with easy access to the M4 and M5.
Commercial property expert James Lockhart of Whitmarsh Lockhart said it was underused and there was scope for expansion and bringing in a mix of companies to use it.
Industrial developer Panattoni seems to agree.
The company seems to have a liking for major sites just off the A419. It is already building a huge new warehouse and distribution centre for Amazon at Symmetry Park in Gablecross further down the road.
Earlier this year it announced it had bought the site and it is in the process of making an application to expand it. The company is looking at building premises for both industrial and warehousing and logistics, totalling 672,000 square metres.
That’s 166 acres of new factory and warehouse floor – a huge amount considering the whole site is 370 acres.
The company says the £700m it will invest into the site is the biggest speculative investment it has ever made
With decommissioning the Honda plant and machinery due to continue into 2022 it looks like Panattoni wants to be ready to expand the site as soon as it can.
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