400 jobs a step closer as final phase of employment park completes

The creation of 400 jobs has moved a step closer after Opus Land revealed it has achieved practical completion of the final phase of CONNEQT at Kingswood Lakeside in Cannock.

The site was acquired from Staffordshire County Council which had been the freeholders of the site and responsible for the creation of Kingswood Lakeside Business Park.

CONNEQT was funded via a combination of grant, debt and equity through the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBS LEP), the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) via Frontier Development Capital and Bridges Fund Management. It was bought late last year with vacant possession by Canal & River Trust.

Opus Land bought two Grade A industrial units on site totaling 283,353 sq ft.

Victoria Turnbull, joint managing director of Opus Land, said: “We are delighted to have finished our fifth development at Kingswood Lakeside in Cannock and we are proud of the transformation that Opus Land’s developments have made to regenerating this key site in Cannock District.”

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, who chairs the WMCA, said: “This is another great example of how the WMCA is using its funding to help a local developer with a strong track record breathe new life into former industrial land.

“Opus has transformed a dormant site on challenging ground and brought it back into economic use. CONNEQT will create jobs and encourage further investment in this region, which is at the heart of what the WMCA was set up to do.”

Nick Oakley, head of property at Frontier Development Capital, said: “The WMCA’s Collective Investment Fund aims to accelerate site regeneration and support economic growth, so the CONNEQT development presented an excellent investment opportunity for the fund. It’s fantastic to see such a high quality development in the region reach practical completion”.

Guy Bowden, partner at Bridges Fund Management, said: “The new development is a response to strong occupier demand while also having a positive impact on the local area. The remediation work has regenerated a brownfield site that has been derelict for over 50 years. The units have been constructed using sustainable construction technology to achieve an EPC ‘A Rating’. Only 1.5% of commercial buildings in the UK currently achieve this level. We expect that approximately 400 jobs will be created once both buildings are fully occupied.”

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