New Logistics Hub to Create 150 Local Jobs

A huge new facility being built next to the M4 will create more than 100 jobs, despite someone calling the construction "ugly".

Work is underway on a warehouse on a field beside M4 Junction 12 for Theale, part of the development called "Panattoni Park".

The building can be split into two units (5,214 sqm and 4,676 sqm) or used as a single 9,890 sqm logistics hub.

The site is an unused field off Hoad Way, two minutes' walk from the High Street and five minutes from Theale station.

Photos show the superstructure going up, with cranes and engineering vehicles. MCS Build started work in April and Construction Map lists a finish date of 30 April 2027.

Planners say benefits include tree planting, energy-efficient buildings and approximately 150 jobs in a strategic location.

Pannattoni won permission after an appeal to the planning inspectorate. West Berkshire Council had rejected the scheme in August 2024, with development manager Bob Dray saying it was inappropriate for greenbelt land.

The refusal letter states: "It will harm and adversely affect the separate identity of Theale from Calcot and degrade the approach and gateway into Theale, an historic settlement.

"The scale of the proposed building is vastly disproportionate to the scale of the existing dwellings and commercial businesses which border the site, and the jarring impact of this can be seen from a range of vantage points along the High Street."

Inspector Alison Bell ruled that the benefits of creating employment space in a sustainable location outweighed the less than substantial harm to the conservation area.

You can view the approved plans using reference 24/00145/FULMAJ on West Berkshire Council's planning portal and the Pannattoni Park website.

Both Pannattoni and the council tried to recover appeal costs, but both applications were refused.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter