Building Briefs: Thorncliffe Business Park; Aspect Architecture; St Johns Shopping Centre; Mandale Homes; Esh Construction; Dacres Commercial

A SOUTH Yorkshire business park has attracted a new tenant while an existing occupant has doubled its space.

National charity PHA Pulmonary Hypertension Association UK and construction firm Robertson Group are two of the latest companies to take space at Thorncliffe Business Park.

PHA has moved from Manvers in Rotherham to a new 2,544 sq ft office while Roberts has expanded on site and taken a further 1336 sq ft, doubling its space.

They join around 80 companies from small businesses to B Braun, Balfour Beatty, The National Farmers Union and Wolseley at the Chapeltown-based park.

Rebecca Schofield, from Knight Frank in Sheffield, which is acting for owner Mountcity Group, said: “Thorncliffe Business Park occupies an enviable position just six miles north of Sheffield city centre, and a similar distance from Barnsley and Rotherham. But what elevates it from other business parks is its facilities.

“Not only does it have plenty of free, on-site parking, but it has a cafe, gym, creche, nursery and green recreational space.”

A range of modern, serviced and traditional office accommodation is currently available from 185 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft.

Thorncliffe Business Park totals approximately 510,000 sq ft of mixed and prestigious managed office accommodation, industrial units, workshops, storage and distribution, over 46 acres.

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HARROGATE and Leeds practice Aspect Architecture has appointed Peter Tomkins as an architectural technologist and trainee architect.

A graduate of Nottingham Trent University, Mr Tomkins will attend Leeds Beckett University over four years on a day-release basis to become a qualified architect.

A specialist in sustainable residential and commercial projects, Aspect’s recent schemes include the RICS Awards-nominated 62,000 sq ft Fountain Court ‘workpods’ office development at Robin Hood Airport. The high-tech scheme used an innovative approach to energy efficiency, exploiting the structure of the building to retain heat, and maximising natural daylight, to create one of Yorkshire’s most environmentally sustainable office developments.

James Elliott, a partner at Aspect, said: “We have a growing number of interesting projects in the pipeline, including a couple of sizeable high-spec residential schemes, both of which are in North Yorkshire. As the region’s economy gathers pace, Peter’s appointment will provide us with the extra capacity and skills that are essential to handle the increasing demand for our services from both the commercial and residential sectors.”

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A 300-year-old hotel in Richmond is to temporarily close next month as it embarks on the first phase of its £1m investment.

The Kings Head, which was acquired earlier this year by Coaching Inn Group, will be closing its doors for seven weeks from May 3 as it undergoes the first phase of its refurbishment, which will include a number of structural repairs and a revamp of its restaurant, bar and accommodation.

Hotel manager, Fred Oxlade, said: “As a much loved iconic local landmark, we wanted to maximise our prime location to ensure we are known as the go-to-place in Richmond for family-friendly relaxed all day dining.

“The next seven weeks will see major work conducted on the property to breathe a new lease of life into the historic coaching inn, whilst maintaining its Georgian architecture. The plans look fantastic and we’re very excited to be introducing our new eatery and coffee house concept, which will see the introduction of locally sourced food and our popular sharing menu.”

The Kings Head is currently recruiting for 30 staff.

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THERE is a double helping of new food outlets coming to St Johns Shopping Centre in Leeds.

The ribs, wings and burger grill Stampede has opened its second UK outlet while Pound Bakery is launching its third Leeds store.

Twenty-four jobs are being created by the two openings which follow hot on the heels of the arrival of lady’s fashion brand Lavitta.

Stampede has created 10 new jobs at St Johns in its 2,000 sq ft unit on Albion Street.

Pound Bakery opens its doors in an 870 sq ft unit between Card Factory and Virgin Media. The new branch brings another 14 jobs to St Johns Shopping Centre.

Mark Proudlove, from St Johns’ retail property consultants Barker Proudlove, said: “It is great news that an exciting new entrant to the city in Stampede has committed to Leeds and St Johns for their second UK branch, and Pound Bakery shows their continued commitment to Leeds in taking a new outlet in the Northern Quarter.”

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HOUSEBUILDER Mandale Homes has begun work on a gated development at Horbury near Wakefield.

The ‘Calder Green’ scheme of eight four-bedroom houses is due for completion this summer.

House prices start from around £320,000. The site, on Cluntergate in Horbury, was formerly occupied by a large house with extensive gardens, which was demolished several years ago.

Mandale Homes currently has five residential sites underway in Yorkshire: in Shelf near Halifax, Doncaster, Morley, Pontefract and Horbury.

Richard Harriman, operations director at Mandale Homes, said: “Horbury’s location, with all the benefits of village life just a stone’s throw from Wakefield and within an easy commute of Leeds, make this a potentially desirable place to live for many people.

He added: “Mandale are known for attention to detail and for ensuring that each new development we build is designed individually to be empathetic to its surroundings.

“Brand new houses don’t come on to the market here very often so it’s not surprising that several people have already contacted us about making of- plan reservations. At just eight houses Calder Green will be a real gem of a development.”

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ESH CONSTRUCTION has added a number of new projects to its expanding portfolio.

The Yorkshire operation, which is based at Thorpe Park in Leeds and employs 250 people, has added York Velodrome and the YORbuild framework to its project roster.

Esh Construction is one of 46 regional and national contractors appointed to the new £2bn YORbuild2 framework, which is split into five value-banded lots and two new build housing lots.

Esh won a place on the lots valued up to £3m, and both new build housing lots.
 
The framework is divided into four regions but now has new lot structures based on project size and type, including new-build housing projects. The regional project areas extend across Yorkshire, Humberside, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
 
YORbuild has historically been the primary procurement vehicle for local authorities such Leeds City Council, Sheffield City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Scarborough Borough Council.

On behalf of client York Sports Village, the York Sport Velodrome project will see Esh start work on the exciting phase two of the outdoor velodrome at Heslington. The works, which are expected to last for seven weeks, include lighting installations, footpath and fencing works to the existing velodrome at York Sports Village. The scheme is due for completion in early May.
 
The 250m Olympic-sized outdoor Velodrome is the latest addition to the cycling facilities at York Sports Village The tarmac track has 30-degree banking at each end, providing a unique and exhilarating cycling experience for cycling enthusiasts and the general public.
 
Andy Gawthorpe, regional managing director of Esh, said: “The new contracts are indicative of a strong first quarter for Esh with new projects for our commercial build and civils teams.”

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A RETAIL building on The Grove in Ilkley is up for sale with a £300,000 price tag.

Number 8 The Grove is available with vacant possession and offers 854 sq ft of space spread over four floors, with the ground floor and first floors providing the main retail areas. 

There is also a large basement area and a second floor store room. 

Matthew Brear from Dacres Commercial, says: “The Grove is the jewel in Ilkley’s crown and freehold opportunities such as this don’t come along very often.  This building is in a prime position, close to where The Grove meets Brook Street, and it is surrounded by lots of well-known businesses including Bettys, Fat Face, WH Smith and Paperchase.”
 

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HARROGATE-based Homes for Students, the student accommodation management company, has been appointed to manage four new schemes totalling 917 beds.

The company was chosen by UK real estate investment manager Lothbury Investment Management on behalf of the Lothbury Property Trust, which owns the student accommodation schemes in Aberdeen, St Andrews, Durham and London. These schemes are being developed by specialist student accommodation developer Alumno.

The four sites are East Shore Student Halls, a 135-bed scheme in St Andrews, which became operational in 2015; Powis Place, a new 196-bed property in Aberdeen and the Town Hall Camberwell, a 168-bed development in London, which both come on board in 2016, as well as a new 418-bed scheme at Sheraton Park in Durham, which will be operational from 2017.

Homes for Students will provide a full range of services including a booking and marketing platform, sales teams, rent collection and financial management, tenancy management, helpdesk and reception, full facilities management, life cycle and asset management and energy management.