JANE Leedham, leasing manager for Segro, offers a small history lesson with a look at Kings Norton Business Centre for December’s Out of Town feature.
Give us a brief description of the development:
Kings Norton Business Centre is a 60-acre business centre with industrial and warehouse units as well as modern office suites. The site offers a wide spectrum of space from 740 sq ft up to 74,000 sq ft, with the total floor area just under 800,000 sq ft.
What state of development is the site currently in and which tenants are based there?
The site is fully developed and the majority of existing space is let. We are looking to refresh some of the older buildings over the next few years.
What’s the most interesting feature about the development?
We have a terrace of units dating back to the 19th century which back onto the canal, making them very popular spaces. We also have a healthy wildlife environment with ducks regularly spotted on the estate as well as the occasional rare bird.
The site was once home to the Birmingham Mint where the Victoria Cross was made and spitfire engines were made/renovated there in WW2.
Several Dr Who episodes have also been filmed there when the programme was produced at Pebble Mill in the 1980s and the site became the second ‘special planning zone’ in the UK in the late 1990s.
What’s the history of the site and what first attracted the developer to it?
Segro, then Slough estates, bought the estate in the early 1930s as its first acquisition after the Slough Trading Estate. Back then, it was known as Birmingham Factory Centre, but Segro renamed it Kings Norton Business Centre in 1990.
Who owns the development and how is it being backed?
Segro wholly own the development and fund any improvements or new schemes in house.
