Magna Park Lutterworth
Project Overview
Magna Park was Britain’s first and Europe’s largest dedicated distribution park with a top quality new landscape framework, setting new standards in concept, design and management. The 170 hectare site on a disused airfield comprised over 10 million square feet of purpose built warehouse development.
An ‘Eco Template’ or environmental framework evolved from this project for international adaptation. This success has spawned a model for numerous other ‘Magna Parks’ in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy.
In addition to the provision of detailed planting plans for the Park we also designed one of the first large scale reed beds in the UK in 1990 for 7 million sq. ft. of warehouse distribution development and its offices. The reed beds handle pre-treated waste with gravel beds that are planted with a range of native marginal aquatic and reed plants whose roots absorb the nutrients and waste materials.
The clean water runs into a lake whose outfall water quality has been measured regularly for years indicating it has a higher quality than that of the field ditch into which it ultimately drains. The reed beds and its lake provide an attractive wildlife habitat without any odours so that it is an amenity used frequently by the occupiers.
Our client, John Duggan, former Chief Executive of Gazeley, very generously stated that we “..have designed an attractive world class landscape adding long term value to our environment which has helped to attract world class companies.”
We have worked on this project since it started in 1987 and are still fully involved providing design and monthly maintenance services.