Out of Town: Whitley Business Park

MARK Watkins, (below), development surveyor for St. Modwen Properties, provides a tour of the regeneration specialist’s Whitley Business Park scheme in Coventry for August’s ‘Out of Town’.

Give us a brief description of the park:

Whitley Business Park is helping to put Coventry on the map as a thriving location for business, putting the city in pole position for future key relocations. The scheme is located off the A45, adjacent to Jaguar’s research and development centre, and will eventually comprise 1.1m sq ft of office and industrial accommodation. The Business Park has boosted the provision of new office space in Coventry and the first 49,578 sq ft phase, known as Lakeside, has proven very popular with occupiers.

What state of development is the site currently in and which tenants, if any, do you have ready to move in?

The speculative construction of Lakeside has been completed and only one building remains available. Design, configuration and materials for the proposed offices reflected market demand whether in cellular or open plan format. Occupiers include Cooper Crouse-Hinds, a division of Cooper Industries and the world’s largest manufacturer of electrical products, Prime Chartered Accountants, Get Solutions and Jaguar Land Rover. The remaining property comprises 3,395 sq ft of office space.

Future phases of the scheme will be industrial accommodation at Woodside and a second office phase called Riverside. Woodside’s units could reach up to 250,000 sq ft and we’re talking to interested parties about design and build opportunities at the scheme.

What’s the most interesting feature about the development?

The 93-acre site was designed with occupiers’ varying requirements in mind and each property offers flexible accommodation. This, we believe, marks a new era of business park development for Coventry and the scheme has been devised to meet the evolving needs of occupiers. Properties at Lakeside have also been designed to complement the surrounding woodland environment.

What’s the history of Whitley and what first attracted you to it?

We acquired the site from Jaguar Land Rover and Coventry City Council and were attracted to it because of its location at A45/A46 junction. Additionally, we are delighted to be developing in Coventry together with a proactive and supportive council. We believe all this provides an extremely strong platform to deliver Whitley Business Park.

Who owns the development and how is it being backed?

The development is wholly owned, funded and managed by St. Modwen Properties.