'˜Thousands of jobs' in £50m land plan

Peel Logistics Property wants to build warehouses and offices on the 48-acre plot off Shepcote Lane in Tinsley. The firm says it will generate many millions of pounds of investment for Sheffield.

Peel last week announced it had bought the site, beside Junction 34 of the M1, from steel company Outokumpu for £8.5m.

A spokeswoman said: “Peel Logistics is planning to develop a cutting edge logistics-led business park for some of the Sheffield’s leading businesses who in turn will create many thousands of job opportunities for local people.”

She also said they would ensure it did not cause congestion.

Sheffield City Council has received £1.4m to come up with a plan to tackle snarl ups at Junctions 33 and 34 of the M1.

Plans for a £300m Meadowhall extension have been halted over fears the road layout is ‘inadequate’.

But the spokeswoman said they had done their research.

She added: Peel Logistics has undertaken a great deal of research into the site and is confident that it can deliver this exciting project without any negative impact on the local road network.”

Peel Logistics is part of Peel Group which owns Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Sheffield Chamber chief Richard Wright said he welcomed the planned development.

He added: “Peel is investing more in the region and that has got to be good, especially since it’s a complementary sector.

“But it underlines the importance of getting traffic flows at Junction 34 sorted.

“We know it is busy and there are questions about the environment. There were issues around traffic to the new IKEA, and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District and Olympic Legacy Park could both be affected.

“But we don’t want to limit investment due to traffic, you sort out traffic to ensure you can have investment.”