Gas company confirms 20 year lease on 25,000 sq ft hub

Gas network Cadent will move into one of the biggest office and warehouse spaces built in Wolverhampton in recent years, it has announced.

The 25,000sq ft facility in Planetary Road will be the regional hub for Cadent’s West Midlands network, which covers Congleton to Hereford, and the M1 to the Welsh borders.

The two-storey building has just secured planning permission and will house 150 desk stations, meeting rooms and welfare facilities for hundreds of employees and contractors.

Cadent is investing around £3m in the building fit out and taking a 20-year lease from property company Fiera Real Estate, which has in turn contracted with local developer Opus Land to manage the construction.

The gas network manages 15,000 miles of underground distribution pipes in its West Midlands network, as well as providing the region’s 24/7, year-round gas emergency service.

It currently has two bases in Wolverhampton and these operations – and all employees – will move to the new building when it is ready to open, which should be around May 2022.

“We’ve got exciting times ahead, both in maintaining a safe, reliable gas network and in helping the West Midlands reach net zero,” said Kate Grant, director of Cadent’s West Midlands Network.

“This new facility in Wolverhampton is exciting for us in many ways, not least in making sure we have the right work space for our team to thrive.

“We can’t really get much more central to the network than Wolverhampton and we aim to continue being a key part of this community for many years to come.”

Construction of the new building will begin within weeks.