Setting the bar for community-minded commercial space at an historic UK trading estate

SEGRO V-Park Leigh Road

With a 100-year history that ranges from military to confections to car manufacturing and televisions studios, the Slough Trading Estate (STE), owned and operated by SEGRO, is expanding opportunities to attract innovative businesses. Located on a regenerated brownfield site at the centre of the estate, we provided town and landscape planning, development economics, and civil engineering services related to transport, air quality, and noise to help SEGRO develop the next phase in the evolution of the estate.

Engaging with Slough Borough Council, we supported the planning application for a new seven-storey flexible industrial building that will serve as a local incubator for small businesses and subject matter experts. Our team demonstrated the benefit the scheme could have as a focal point for the site and were integral to outlining the social value and economic case for the development. We included a townscape and visual impact assessment with the planning application, which considered the potential for the height and character of the building to form a focal point for STE. We further refined the design to pioneer a more immediate, active, and engaging townscape, arranged to prioritise pedestrians rather than vehicles.

When complete, the structure will feature a green roof, solar panels, rainwater harvesting, green living walls, and STE’s first micro forest. The site is expected to attract an anticipated 50–70 small to medium-sized enterprises that will create around 400 jobs for the local economy.