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And just to prove that the trend around online shopping is set to continue, this article demonstrates how whilst small towns continue to decline bland industrial estates near major road arteries are seeing a proliferation in their warehouse capacity. It tells us:

The popularity of online shopping has contributed to a near doubling in demand for warehouse space over the past 10 years, according to figures from property research firm CBRE.

About 235 million sq ft of warehouse space was leased or purchased between 2007 and March 2018 – equivalent to more than 3,000 Wembley Stadiums.

That figure is up from about 130 million sq ft in the previous decade.

About 60% of the space is now used by retailers, according to CBRE.

Ten years ago, retailers accounted for about a third of the space.

“Demand has been unprecedented,” said Andrew Marston, who researches UK industrial and logistics property at CBRE, which compiled the figures for the BBC.

“Growth has come from online retailers, a number of which have been rapidly expanding their distribution networks.”

Discount grocery chains such as Lidl and Aldi have also played their part, he said.

In addition, warehousing space for advanced and automated manufacturing – particularly in the automotive supply chain – has taken up space.

One region cashing in on the opportunity is the East Midlands. The arteries of major motorways and rail connections run through Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. As a result, it’s rebranding itself the “Golden Triangle” of logistics.

The region has mass appeal because goods can reach 90% of the population in England and Wales within four hours.

Marks and Spencer sounded the starting pistol for the area in 2014 with its £200m fulfilment centre at Castle Donington. A little further south, Magna Park near Lutterworth is home to Disney and Asda. Tesco has a huge operation at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (Dirft).