Business park plan moves forward
A MAJOR obstacle to the £9m development of a new business park in Sheffield has been lifted, TheBusinessDesk.com has learned.
Developer Property Alliance Group has secured a grant worth £2.79m to bridge a funding gap in plans for the Victory Higher Manufacturing Park in the Lower Don Valley.
The park, on a 15 acre former gas works site, could eventually host 25,000 square metres of accommodation for advanced manufacturing companies and create almost 500 new jobs.
Simon White, assistant director for regeneration at Creativesheffield, which backed the bid, said: “From a location point of view it ticks all the right boxes but it has struggled to stack up in commercial terms and funding issues over the last 18 months or so have only made it more so. Given the prominence of the site we encouraged AspinallVerdi, who are specialists in growing funding bids, to seek ERDF funding for the necessary infrastructure works and to build two units on there.
“The AMP is pretty much our jewel in the crown as it were and it attracts a certain level and type of operator – we’ve got Boeing and Rolls-Royce on there. There are perhaps other operators that don’t fit into that category but are important in the supply chain. If we are to grow our economy on the back of the high value industrial sector there is a necessity for component manufacturers sites in the lower Don Valley.”
Sign up for our weekly property news email: just click here
Mr White said the development would provide businesses with a wider variety of potential unit size in the Sheffield area and be an important injection of new commercial building stock
suitable for modern industrial processes.
He added that the site’s location, close to Forgemasters, was important in the context of creating a civil nuclear hub.
The first phase of the park will see the construction of 4,500 square metres of accommodation in two units aimed at the advanced manufacturing and materials sector.
A second phase would see the building of four further units covering 20,400 square metres.
Yorkshire Forward has approved the use of £2.79m from the European Regional Development Fund to help the project overcome challenges posed by the costs of preparing the site, the effect of the recession on the property market and the shortage of supply of development finance.
Property Alliance Group and AspinallVerdi declined to comment.
