Silverwoods regeneration gets under way
THE regeneration of the 74-acre Silverwoods site in Kidderminster has moved a step closer after two national housebuilders acquired 15 acres of land there.
The site was bought by St Francis Group in 2006 following the closure of British Sugar’s operation there in 2004.
St Francis has demolished the former sugar beet processing and production facility, including two 70-metre high silos, and obtained planning consent for a mixed-use scheme including new homes, employment uses, leisure and retail.
Silverwoods fronts the A451 Stourport Road and is bounded by the River Stour, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and the Severn Valley Railway.
Housebuilders Bovis and Taylor Wimpey are to develop 250 new homes, providing a variety of house types to meet market demands. It is expected that construction will commence in the Autumn once the primary roads and infrastructure works have been completed.
DSM Demolition has completed extensive enabling works, which include demolition, site levelling and ground improvements, to open the site up ready for the infrastructure to be put in.
Fitzgerald Civil Engineering Contractors has been appointed by St Francis to implement the first phase of primary infrastructure works.
The Department of Transport is to put £4.9m into part funding the construction of a road through the Silverwoods site, known as the Hoobrook Link Road, which would connect the A451 Stourport Road to the A442 Worcester Road.
Colliers International and Harris Lamb are joint agents at the site.
Simon Norton, joint head of the industrial and logistics team at Colliers International in Birmingham, said: “In addition to new homes, Silverwoods has planning permission for offices, industrial and storage, pub, hotel and retail uses.
“There is also potential for a railway halt utilising the Severn Valley Railway Line. This will make this location very desirable for businesses to flourish.
“The recent news on the approved part funding for the completion of the new link road through the site is very good news, and will make Silverwoods a key destination to live, work or play.”
