A design of the site

Henry Boot secures permission for £110m development



Henry Boot has secured planning consent for an industrial and logistical development worth £110m.


Reserved Matters planning consent has been gained for three units at the SPARK site in Walsall, covering 464,000 sq ft in total. This was secured via HBD, Henry Boot’s property investment and development arm.

The wider 620,000 sq ft SPARK project is being delivered in partnership with Walsall Council, Homes England, West Midlands Comunited Authority and Black Country LEP.

The former James Bridge Copper Works Site is currently undergoing specialised remediation works, which HBD is set to complete in the third quarter of 2024.

SPARK units range from 20,000 sq ft to 254,000 sq ft and are located close to junctions 9 and 10 of the M6.

Once the site has been fully developed, it is hoped this will create as many as 1,100 jobs.

“Industrials and logistics remains one of our high conviction sectors and carrying out the specialised remediation works and securing detailed planning for the first three units at SPARK is testament to HBD’s expertise in navigating an increasingly onerous and complex planning system,” said Tim Roberts, CEO of Henry Boot.

“We’re already seeing good occupier interest in the project, due to the lack of high-quality space with strong sustainability credentials in prime Midlands locations, which gives us confidence that we will have secured an occupier and started on site developing the first units by the end of the year. This new logistics and manufacturing hub will add to our growing industrial portfolio and replenish our committed development programme.”

Mike Goulding, development director central at Homes England, added: “This marks an important step forward and adds further momentum to the SPARK project. We are pleased to be working collaboratively, to drive forward a project that will transform this large brownfield site into a sustainable place that will increase employment opportunities in the area.”



Leave a comment