Savills to market two new sites on Advanced Manufacturing Hub
COMMERCIAL property agent, Savills, is to market two new sites on one of Birmingham’s important economic zones.
The firm has been selected to market plots on the Advanced Manufacturing Hub in Aston capable of accommodating units respectively sized 50,000 sq ft and 140,000 sq ft.
The marketing agreement, arranged on behalf of the Homes and Community Agency and Birmingham City Council, comes after Savills exchanged contracts on the freehold sale of a plot on the hub to HydraForce Hydraulics Ltd for an undisclosed sum.
That site comprises 6.7 acres and benefits from a Local Development Order granting planning consent for manufacturing, light industrial and R&D use. The international hydraulics manufacturing company plans to develop a 120,000 sq ft factory, which will be ready for occupation in August 2015 and employ approximately 500 staff on site.
The two additional sites also benefit from the LDO as well as major highway works set to improve access to the Lichfield Road and Junction 6 of the M6.
New occupiers will be allowed to choose their own development partners and may be able to take advantage of assistance with funding grants, space planning and building design, subject to criteria.
Charles Spicer, associate director of industrial at Savills, said: “This is an exciting step forward for the Advanced Manufacturing Hub. With Birmingham’s industrial market thriving, we are confident we will be able to announce further commitments to the site in due course.”
The 40-acre Advanced Manufacturing Hub is one of six zones identified by Birmingham City Council as areas where specific sectors can be encouraged to invest and locate. Others include a food hub in Witton and the city centre enterprise zone created with the LEP.
Located at the Aston Regional Investment Site, the hub is intended to support the city’s growing automotive and aerospace supply chains as well as other advanced manufacturers. It was intended to be a three-phase development over a 10-15 year period, with the first phase of 10.5 hectares able to accommodate individual, bespoke buildings up to 11,000 sq m.
Birmingham City Council had offered the hub as a possible site for the relocation of the Dunlop Motorsport factory before the tyre maker opted to close and switch production abroad.
