Large new employment sites get the green light from planners

THREE new commercial developments capable of sustaining thousands of jobs in Staffordshire have received the green light.

Design work and project management will now begin but until funding is secured for the large projects then any actual building work is a way off yet.

The three projects are: Keele University Science and Innovation Park, where a new incubation centre is planned, Chatterley Valley, near Newcastle, which requires infrastructure improvements and the former Royal Ordnance factory site in Featherstone, South Staffordshire, where an i54-style business park is proposed.

Staffordshire County Council said the plans demonstrated the authority’s drive to secure new, high value jobs for the area.

It is estimated the three schemes could create more than 5,000 jobs and county said it was already directly involved in the delivery of a number of developments which would eventually accommodate nearly 10,000 jobs.

The new business innovation centre at Keele University will be the sixth such hub developed and it follows the near completion of Innovation Centre 5 (IC5).

The centre has taken just a year to complete and which will open in July went ahead after a £7m investment by the county council. IC6 will bring more skilled jobs in the high technology sector, providing high quality lettable space for new innovative businesses, start-ups and tech entrepreneurs, alongside state-of-the-art shared facilities to foster university and business collaboration.  

Potential additional investment could also provide new facilities for Keele University Management School and the Mercia Centre for Innovation Leadership.  IC6 would accommodate around 100 high value jobs.

At nearby Chatterley Valley plans to begin the process of creating the roads to enable major business development can now be progressed. The 94-acre site lies within the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone which the council hopes will make it even more attractive to investors.

In turn, all business rates will be retained by the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership. It is estimated that when fully developed, the site could accommodate 2,150 jobs. The project will lead to new general industry, manufacturing and distribution jobs.
 
In South Staffordshire the county council is planning to bring the 90-acre former Royal Ordnance munitions factory site just north of the M54 at Featherstone, into commercial use, potentially accommodating up to 2,800 jobs. This will involve building a new link road to the A460, carrying out road improvements and building a new roundabout entrance to the site.
 
While the costs of each project has yet to be finalised, the county council said it would look to secure funding from central government and reclaim money in the longer term through business rate retention and from developers.
 
David Frost, chairman, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP, said: “These developments are great illustrations of how we are working together across the public and private sectors to bring jobs and sustained growth to our area.  We are delighted to see that our ambitions to create more and better jobs benefitting local communities are taking shape on the ground.

“Development is really picking up pace and it is clear that Staffordshire is proving an increasingly attractive place for businesses to locate and to grow. This is a can-do county, and we have an unbeatable combination of a central UK location, great development sites and a skilled, enthusiastic workforce.”