Work starts on £12m Birchwood Park industrial warehouse
PATRIZIA-managed Birchwood Park has seen work begin on the second phase of its Cavendish Warehouse development following a £12m investment, which will see 170,000 sq ft of prime industrial warehouse space come to the park.
Birchwood Park welcomed representatives from Warrington Borough Council and the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership to a ground-breaking ceremony at the site, to mark the start of work.
The development, set to complete in Spring 2020, will feature five new industrial units comprising two 18,000 sq ft warehouses, a 24,000 sq ft warehouse and larger 50,000 and 58,000 sq ft warehouses and boast some of the best transport links in the North West following a £5m investment into the road network surrounding the park.
Martin O’Rourke, commercial director at Birchwood Park, said: “Warrington has been crying out for industrial space of this size and spec for some time, and so we’re confident that the second phase of our Cavendish Warehouse development will meet the needs of businesses and plug this gap in the market.
“We’ve taken on board experience from the first phase of our development to ensure we’re able to offer greater flexibility when it comes to adapting this industrial space to suit the needs of both our current or future occupiers, and boast excellent road access as we’re located within easy reach of J11 of the M62.”
Following the success of the first phase of investment to improve the Birchwood road network in 2016, a second phase of improvements to provide additional traffic capacity while reducing congestion in and out of Birchwood are due to complete in December 2019.
Warrington Borough Council leader, Cllr Russ Bowden, said: “I’m delighted that phase two of this important scheme is officially under way. It will bring a big boost to businesses, providing much-needed industrial warehouse space and supporting new jobs.
“Birchwood Park continues to go from strength to strength and this investment is the latest success story for the site. It forms part of our plans to deliver a first-class destination that attracts new businesses to Warrington and helps drive our economy.”
Future occupiers at the Cavendish Warehouse site can expect to benefit from Enterprise Zone status as Birchwood Park forms an integral part of the Cheshire Science Corridor Enterprise Zone, an exciting boost to the nuclear engineering and science sector that has continued to thrive at the park over the past 20 years and part of Birchwood Park’s long-term ambitions.
Robert Mee, chair of the Cheshire Science Corridor Enterprise Zone and a board member of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Birchwood Park is a key element in the Cheshire Science Corridor and we are delighted that the LEP has been able to invest in phase 2 of the Cavendish Warehouse development that will provide much needed Grade A speculative industrial space to attract and retain high value science and engineering tenants in Warrington.”
The units will feature a secure yard, on-site parking, and benefit from all the added amenities that come with being located on Birchwood Park, including free shuttle bus to Birchwood station, discounted gym memberships and the newly-refurbished EngineRooms offering an all-day Meet Eat Work facility.
Designed by architects AEW, Caddick Construction has been appointed as main contractors on this latest development with Warrington Martin having been appointed as project managers and quantity surveyors.
BDP Structural have been appointed as structural engineers and the planning process was overseen by Turley’s, with Crookes Walker providing advice on M&E and Vectos providing highways advice.
B8 Real Estate and JLL are join agents acting on behalf of Birchwood Park.
In 2018, Birchwood Park celebrated 20 years of growth. Since 1998 the park has almost tripled in size, providing 1.1 million sq ft of office and warehouse space and accommodating more than 165 businesses.
