The term originated as a description for a small area around Magna Park in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, and referred to the good connectivity to local motorways enjoyed by logistics businesses located there.
[4] A 2010 Department for Transport publication regards it as being between Rugby, Daventry and Northampton, centred on the West Coast Main Line, which carries half of all the UK rail freight.
[5] The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has adopted the term and defines it as any 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) of the country which lies within four hours' drive of 90% of the British population.
[1] This provides a non-contiguous area of 239 square miles (620 km2) in the West Midlands, running broadly between Lichfield, Cannock, Wolverhampton, Solihull, Redditch and Nuneaton, with outlying patches at Bromsgrove and to the south of Coventry.
[1] Wang and Pettit note that there is a considerable benefit for retail warehouses to be located close to the main parcel distribution hubs, which are traditionally sited in the Midlands.