By Matt Cross, head of inward investment, Invest Bristol and Bath.
Last week’s announcement that The Range is investing in bringing 1,050 jobs through one of the largest warehousing and distribution schemes in the UK to Severnside, South Gloucestershire, shows that the West of England is most certainly open for business.
The Range has purchased a prime 55-acre site at Central Park in the heart of the Enterprise Area and adjacent to the M49 motorway. The plan is to construct a single unit of over 1.2m sq ft to form its new South of England regional distribution centre by 2017. 
The new regional distribution centre will also support The Range’s European expansion plans as well as serving its expansive retail network. The £100m investment will be one of the most hi-tech warehouses in the country and will benefit from the extensive technical knowhow on its doorstep in communication systems, robotics and autonomous systems and big data.
The investment is a testimony to the value of Enterprise Areas in the West of England region. Despite the size and complexity of the investment, The Range has been allowed to move quickly largely thanks to the blanket commercial planning consents in place in Avonmouth/Severnside which give investors such confidence.
The Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and South Gloucestershire Council have invested heavily to reduce flood risks and have convinced Highways England that a new junction on the M49 is critical. This will certainly be true for The Range.
Owner and founder Chris Dawson talked about how the investment will act as a magnet for other large scale and hi-tech distribution activity. He talks about the thousands of jobs that will come as a result and the impact that will have on schools and colleges in the region providing a real opportunity for a good-quality job at the end of a vocational training route.
Our region has to be ready to help deliver this ambition so we are preparing to work with his team to make sure the company has all the links, connections and support it needs.
Invest Bristol and Bath will build on The Range’s investment and the public sector investment in the Enterprise Area to attract other, similar major occupiers. We will work closely with commercial property agents and developers to ensure that we can share information and work together to support new investors into the West of England. On this deal, Bilfinger GVA and Knight Frank represented Delta Properties. JLL acted for The Range.
For further information about major development sites in the West of England, visit: www.bristolandbath.co.uk
