Go ahead for pharmacy HQ boosts Walsall’s £400m Gigaport scheme
WALSALL’S £400m ‘Gigaport’ business and office corridor has received a major boost with plans to build a new headquarters for Jhoots Pharmacy being given the go ahead. The new development will create 31 new jobs in the town.
The 20,000 sq ft building will be built on the corner of Littleton Street West and Hatherton Street. Construction is set to start in June and is hoped to be complete by summer 2015.
The scheme, submitted by developer Jessup Build Develop and which has been designed by Cannock based S.P Faizey Chartered Architects, will complement the adjacent whg headquarters building and the anticipated Business and Sports Hub scheme for Walsall College, which is set for a site on the other side of the railway line.
Project Delivery Team Ltd advised the parties on the transaction, including site identification and grant funding applications.
Manjit Jhooty, managing director of Jhoots Pharmacy Group said: “We were keen for our head office to remain in the Walsall area, and the Hatherton Street site is ideal for our purposes.
“The head office will be a high quality building which will support 35 community pharmacy outlets throughout the UK.”
Mark Lavender, head of strategic regeneration at Walsall Council, said: “The Gigaport initiative is starting to take shape now and we envisage that this latest development will further attract more businesses to the site, helping to diversify the town’s economy and creating new jobs and investment.”
Clive Jessup, managing director of Jessup, said: “This is one of the key locations in Walsall town centre and I am pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement with Walsall Council to take on the site and develop it for the benefit of local businesses such as the Jhoots Pharmacy Group. “
The borough council has also recently appointed contractor Jager Associates to carry out remediation work on the Gigaport site in Wisemore. The project is expected to take 12 weeks to complete.
It will create an ‘oven ready’ and de-risked office development opportunity as part of the Gigaport initiative, which will hopefully lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs.
Walsall Council has previously acquired three private ownerships on the site and demolished old industrial buildings. It is now preparing the land to make it ready for the office scheme.
