Development planned for old Ford site in Southampton

Warehouse developers Tungsten Properties has applied to build four industrial units on the the site on Wide Lane in Swaythling.

The developer confirmed that if approved, the new buildings will bring around 100 jobs to the area.

Sign up to our newsletter, Capital Business Bulletin here

However it has not been confirmed whether these jobs would be transferred from other regions or available to local people.

The site

Development director Justin McVeigh said: “[If approved, the units] will be rented out to other companies.”

“We are building these units to help with the scarcity of stock over the region.”

The units will be used for logistical, manufacturing and office spaces, documents confirm. They will be sized between 13,100sq ft and 27,950sq ft.

The plans are currently with Southampton City Council.

A decision on the future of the 6.6 acre site will be decided in September.

No further details have been released on which firms have applied, if any, to take over the new industrial units.

Local leaders hailed the news, adding the need to bring in more jobs to the area.

Councillor for Swaythling Lorna Fielker said: “I welcome further development of the Old Ford Factory site and the opportunity this brings to secure jobs for local people.”

Deputy leader and cabinet member for growth, Cllr Jeremy Moulton, said: “I welcome both the investment into the city and the extra jobs.”

The site has sat mainly unused since Ford pulled its workers out back in 2013.

It first opened its doors in 1953.

In that time, more than 2.2m Ford Transit vans were built by the company at it’s city-based plant.

All 531 employees working at the factory chose to either get redeployed within Ford, or take voluntary redundancy or early retirement.

A total of 134 of those went to work at Ford’s new redistribution centre at Southampton Docks.