Four Ashes

• Environment Agency approval secured for the remediation strategy addressing chemical contamination.
• Bridge access agreements secured with the Canal & River Trust and Network Rail.
• Working with local and county council partners to fund £15m of infrastructure.
• Creation of a 1,000,000 sq ft high-tech park, supporting c. 1,000 jobs and £140m of investment.

Four Ashes Logistics Park is the regeneration of a 70-acre, contaminated and disused site near Junction 12 of the M6, delivered through a joint venture with SI Group UK Limited. Immediate access was constrained by a 5m concrete track and two bridges owned by Network Rail and the Canal & River Trust; unlocking the site required coordinated approvals, access agreements and investment.

Bericote was selected through a competitive process to enter into a joint venture agreement with SI Group UK Limited to bring forward 70 acres of contaminated and disused land near Junction 12 of the M6. Immediate access was constrained by a 5m concrete track and two bridges owned by Network Rail and the Canal & River Trust.

Bericote engaged early with stakeholders to address viability and delivery concerns and to reset perceptions following previous marketing attempts. Stakeholder engagement included:

• South Staffordshire Council – planning and economic development teams
• Staffordshire County Council – highways and grant funding teams
• Canal & River Trust – access and surface water drainage
• Network Rail – access
• Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership – grant funding
• National Highways – planning
• Adjacent landowners and occupiers

Four Ashes presented a complex environmental and geotechnical profile, with variable strata comprising made ground, glacial deposits and the Sherwood Sandstone Group. Groundwater was encountered at shallow depth, and the underlying sandstone forms a Principal Aquifer flowing towards the public water supply abstraction at Somerford. This required a robust, tightly controlled approach to risk management, informed by detailed investigation of soils and shallow groundwater and a clear focus on protecting controlled waters, including the adjacent canal.

Historic contamination added further complexity, including significant phenol plumes that were being managed via a pump-and-treat system operated by SI Group UK Ltd. The remediation strategy was therefore designed to be both effective and contained: all remediation works were confined to the site with no off-site disposal. The design and construction programme also had to accommodate substantial underground basements for heavy machinery, ensuring these interventions did not adversely affect groundwater conditions or compromise remediated areas.

Four Ashes has been repositioned from a constrained, contaminated site into a modern logistics and advanced-manufacturing campus of c. 1,000,000 sq ft. With the park now established and the fundamentals proven, Bericote is building on that momentum. Following local consultation in December 2025, we are progressing the technical work required to support submission of a detailed planning application for the next stage of development. In doing so, we are maintaining the stakeholder-aligned approach that underpinned the initial delivery, while responding to occupier demand for high-quality, well-connected space.