Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Panattoni has acquired a 16-acre site at HPARK within the Atom Valley mayoral development zone in Greater Manchester, where it plans to deliver a speculative industrial and logistics scheme.
The site forms part of Northern Gateway, a large-scale employment and innovation area spanning approximately 1,000 acres across Rochdale and Bury. The wider Atom Valley initiative is intended to support advanced manufacturing, logistics and industrial investment, with plans for up to 17 million sq ft of employment space, 20,000 jobs and 7,000 homes.
HPARK is being developed by Russell LDP and is planned to provide around 2.1 million sq ft of industrial and logistics space. The development targets BREEAM “Excellent” certification and EPC A ratings.
The site benefits from access to Junction 19 of the M62 and Junction 3 of the M66. Panattoni said it will work with Russell LDP to amend the existing planning consent and prepare the site for development. A revised planning application aimed at increasing the approved building area is expected to be submitted in the coming months.
The acquisition follows the recent announcement by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority of £52.1 million in funding for highway improvements linked to Northern Gateway, including a new western access route from Junction 3 of the M66. The infrastructure investment is intended to improve connectivity across the development zone.
Daniel Burn, Head of Development for North West & Yorkshire at Panattoni, said the infrastructure improvements and public investment would support the next stage of development at Northern Gateway.
Andrew Russell, Joint Managing Director at Russell LDP, said the transaction represented the first plot sale at HPARK and reflected continued occupier demand for industrial and logistics space in the North West.
DWF acted as legal adviser to Panattoni, while Freeths advised Russell LDP.
