Works starts on £38m job boosting scheme
Work has started on a £38m development in Staffordshire that is set to create more than 700 jobs.
Construction at Liberty Park, Lichfield, adjacent to the A38, has begun after Lichfield District Council granted planning permission for the development of two speculative industrial/logistics units.
The new units will provide 115,000 sq ft and 48,000 sq ft of Grade A industrial/logistics accommodation with up to 230 combined car parking spaces and 17 lorry spaces.
Derbyshire-based G F Tomlinson has been appointed as lead contractor and is expected to complete work on the new units in October 2019.
Development partners Liberty Property Trust and Stoford staged a groundbreaking ceremony at the site, attended by representatives from Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Andrew Blevins, managing director of Liberty Property Trust’s UK operation, said: “Liberty Park, Lichfield is an exciting opportunity providing quality industrial and logistics accommodation in a superior A38 location, which is already proving attractive to occupiers.”
Tony Nash, director of Stoford Developments, said: “We are delighted to see work start on this major employment project and are looking forward to developing the scheme.”
Liberty Park is a 32-acre development site with planning consent for approximately 441,000 sq ft, including units from 40,000 sq ft to 350,000 sq ft.
Major improvements have already been made to site access and infrastructure, including new car parking facilities and the replacement of a road bridge over the West Coast Main Line.
Liberty Park has been backed by £4m funding through the Government’s Growth Deal and was the first such project to get underway in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. The funding is part of an £128million package of major Growth Deal projects being delivered across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire by the local enterprise partnership.
The site is being jointly marketed by CBRE and Avison Young.
