As part of the commercial partner team, MurrayTwohig has been appointed as the vision and placemaking strategists for the biggest development opportunity in the Midlands.

Areli Developments, founded by Rob Tincknell, will develop the commercial strategy for three massive sites being promoted by the East Midlands Development Company (EM DevCo), a public-private partnership backed by a consortium of local authorities and government.

Areli has brought together a professional team, including MurrayTwohig, to support a long-term programme which centres on the development of hundreds of hectares of land around East Midlands Airport, Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station and the Toton-Chetwynd corridor.

Each site is the size of London’s Olympic Park, and it’s hoped that they will collectively generate 84,000 jobs and add more than £4 billion to the output of the East Midlands economy in the decades ahead.

Some of the sites sit within the boundary of the proposed East Midlands Freeport, while government has also confirmed that HS2 trains will also come into the area.

Areli has a global track record for the delivery of transformational projects, and its professional team in the East Midlands will also include architects Benoy, regeneration consultant Urban Delivery and placemaking experts MurrayTwohig.

Announcing the appointment, Richard Carr, Managing Director of EM DevCo, said: “Our three sites represent one of the biggest and most ambitious development opportunities in the UK’s regions, and we expect them to have an impact at macro-economic level.

“Our ambitions run deep into the quality and nature of the development we’re looking to enable, and bringing on board a partner of Areli’s calibre is a mark of how high we’re aiming.”

Tincknell, whose current development portfolio includes over 8m sqft of mixed use regeneration projects, said: “Areli Developments is thrilled to be appointed as strategic commercial partner to the EM DevCo”

“Our team includes some of the leading real estate strategy specialists in the UK, all of whom are extremely excited to work with the DevCo to help create a robust and compelling vision for the future of three extraordinary projects.

“One of the key workstreams we’ll be commencing over the next 12 months will be to actively engage with local communities and stakeholders to hear their views and build them into the DevCo’s ambitious plans.”

The DevCo has already been appointed a Design Code pilot by government, with a remit to work with partners to ensure the development of beautiful places.

Its sites will include the development of a new innovation campus, major residential development, large-scale demonstrators aimed at taking net zero technologies to market-ready status, and supporting infrastructure.

EM DevCo is also working in partnership with the East Midlands Freeport, which seeks to build on the area’s status as a major trade gateway. East Midlands Airport is the biggest pure airfreight airport in the UK and it sits alongside the SEGRO road-rail logistics site.