Work has begun on an integrated logistics hub at Sherford in South Hams, marking a move from land assembly and planning into the delivery phase of Babcock International’s expansion near Plymouth. The start was marked with a groundbreaking event on an 18.8-acre site close to the A38, within the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport’s Sherford tax site.
The project is intended to give Babcock more room to support activity linked to its Devonport estate. The company plans for the hub to consolidate more than 30 logistics locations, with the aim of making better use of space at Devonport and increasing operational capacity. The site is also intended to support non-dockside work, placing a new industrial operation at Sherford rather than within the dockyard itself.
From land deal to start on site
The construction start is a material step beyond the earlier agreement that secured the land for the project. South Hams District Council acquired the site from the Sherford Consortium in 2025, using a combination of government grant funding and council borrowing. The council has since entered into an agreement for the land to be sold to Babcock.
The borrowing is intended to be repaid from business-rates income generated within the Freeport. That funding arrangement concerns the land transaction and should not be taken as a published total cost for the logistics hub itself. No overall construction budget has been announced as part of the start-of-work milestone.
Sherford’s position close to the A38 is central to the scheme. The location offers road access between Plymouth and the wider South West while remaining inside the Freeport tax site. The hub is expected to combine logistics activity with an advanced-manufacturing base, extending Babcock’s local operational footprint beyond Devonport.
Capacity rather than a completed facility
The project remains in its early construction stage. Breaking ground confirms that work has begun, but it does not mean the hub is operational or that its final layout has been completed. The current plans include a new state-of-the-art building on the site, but no opening date has been set out publicly. A confirmed timetable, the final scale of the building and the number of jobs expected have not been announced with this update.
For Devonport, the intended benefit is additional capacity for work that does not need to be carried out inside the dockyard. The hub forms part of broader infrastructure and skills investment in Plymouth and the surrounding area. It is intended to support resilience and increased throughput at Devonport. Those are stated aims for the project, rather than outcomes that have already been delivered.
A new employment site for Sherford
The development is significant for Sherford because it is designed to bring a major employer to the new town as it continues to grow. The scheme is intended to support high-skilled employment, local business growth and supply-chain opportunities. The announcement does not provide a job total, so the scale of direct employment and any wider economic effect cannot yet be measured.
What has changed is the project’s status. In 2025, the site purchase and planned sale created a route for the expansion. The October groundbreaking shows that the proposal has advanced to on-site work. The next meaningful milestones will be construction progress, confirmation of the building’s final specification, recruitment plans and the point at which the logistics hub can begin operating. Until then, the development should be understood as an active build with a stated long-term role in supporting Babcock’s Devonport work.
