Scannell Properties and Royal London Asset Management Property have awarded McLaren Construction the contract to deliver the TN2 Gateway, a significant new warehouse and industrial development in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

The project will see the construction of approximately 505,000 square feet of state-of-the-art warehousing and ancillary office space across a 33-acre site.

The TN2 Gateway development will comprise six flexible buildings, which can be configured into as many as nine units, with sizes ranging from 23,000 to 175,000 square feet. The project is set to meet high sustainability standards, targeting a BREEAM Outstanding certification and an EPC A+ rating.

Sustainability features will include photovoltaic panels on all buildings, green roofs, carbon-neutral heating systems, energy-efficient lighting, and electric vehicle charging points. In addition, McLaren Construction will contribute to the environmental goals by using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in place of fossil fuels, along with low-carbon materials such as ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) cement, structural steel from electric arc furnaces, and pre-cast low-carbon concrete planks.

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The development is also designed to blend seamlessly with its natural surroundings. A high-quality landscaped setting will preserve an area of ancient woodland and include wildflower meadows, a pond, new tree planting, and green buffer zones, ensuring the site’s environmental impact is minimised.

McLaren Construction's managing director for industrial and logistics, David Gavin, commented: "This will be a stunning setting for an industrial park, with a generous planting scheme that blends sympathetically with the surrounding area. Creating the on-site part of that landscape is one of the most complex parts of the project. It’s more important than ever to draw on our environmental management experts to minimise the impact of construction."

The first buildings are due to be ready for occupation in 2026. McLaren’s subcontractor team includes:

• Steelwork: B&K Structures

• Wall and roof cladding: CA Group

• Whitewall: Cold Clad

• Pre-cast warehouses: Modular Cubed

• CMC piling: Keller

• Curtain walling/glazing: Ridgeway Facades

• Photovoltaics: Watt Energy

• Passenger lifts: Kone

• Siphonic drainage: Sapaflow

• M&E: UME

• Dock levellers and doors: Promstahl.