First occupier for Staffordshire business park secured
St. Modwen has attracted a leading metal pipe and hose manufacturer to its business park near Stone, North Staffordshire.
Arctrend has agreed a 10-year lease to take 36,000 sq ft of industrial and logistics space at Meaford Business Park. The unit is the first building on the park, which has planning permission for a total of up to 1.2 million sq ft of office, industrial and logistics accommodation.
Paul Watson, operations/sales director at Arctrend, said: “The high-quality industrial and logistics space available at Meaford Business Park was exactly what we were looking for to fulfil our business’ needs. Moving into this 36,000 sq ft space from our existing base in nearby Leek, North Staffordshire will allow our business to grow further.”
Euan Lindsay, senior development manager at St. Modwen, said: “Securing Meaford Business Park’s first occupier is great news for both the Park and the local area. We are now working on plans for the next phase of development to bring further businesses, jobs and inward investment to North Staffordshire.”
Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP secured £4.2m of Local Growth funding from the government for infrastructure works to open up Meaford Business Park, including a new roundabout on the A34, improvements to Meaford Road and a new access serving the business park.
The work, which also received a significant funding contribution from St. Modwen, was carried out by Staffordshire County Council.
Staffordshire County Council’s economic growth leader Mark Winnington said: “Meaford Business Park is one of the county’s flagship investment sites and so to see the first company locating there is a significant milestone.
“The road improvements we carried out provide essential infrastructure for the site and have enabled St. Modwen to develop a leading business park for the wider region.
“It has been built on what was one of Staffordshire’s largest undeveloped brownfield sites and is another example of how councils, the LEP and developers work effectively together to bring more jobs and growth to Staffordshire.”
Edward Kennerley of Knight Frank and Patrick Doherty of Louis Taylor, joint agents for the site, added: “We are pleased to have secured the first high-calibre tenant for St. Modwen at Meaford Business Park and expect to see similar occupiers follow suit due to the confidence we have in the industrial and logistics market here in Staffordshire.”
