Latest phase of business park seeks to meet ‘massive pent-up demand’

The second phase of the Flanshaw Business Park development in Wakefield has started on site this week.

Multi-let developer, Frank Marshall Estates of Bradford, bought the four-acre site from Flanshaw Property Ltd for £1.3m in 2020.

Since then, the first phase of the employment park on the outskirts of Wakefield, by Junction 40 of the M1, has been fully let.

This phase was speculatively developed last year and featured 17 units, including seven hybrid Nano units and 10 light industrial and warehouse units up to 9,500 sq ft in size.

The second phase comprises 26,000 sq ft of units ranging in size from 1,500 sq ft up to 6,000 sq ft. Work is scheduled to be completed by June next year. The main contractors are Percy Pickard of Bradford.

Edward Marshall, director of Frank Marshall Estates, said: “When we bought this land, we promised to create the best business park that Wakefield has ever had. We are now delivering on that promise, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding Yorkshire’s commercial property market.

“It is clear that there is a massive pent-up demand in West Yorkshire for high-quality buildings of 10,000 sq ft and under in great locations. We are pleased to be the leading developer in the region for this specific market.

“Wakefield is a logistics and distribution hotspot, thanks to its superb position at the centre of Yorkshire’s excellent motorway network. We estimate that the park, once it is fully developed out, will maintain 200 new and sustainable jobs, providing a substantial boost to the area’s economy.

“This is already a development of which Wakefield is justifiably proud. The majority of occupiers of our first phase are quality local businesses who needed properties to match their expanding businesses. But we are also bringing companies from other areas into Wakefield.”

Rob Oliver, principal at property consultancy Avison Young, added: “When we sold this site to Frank Marshall Estates, we were confident from the outset that a scheme of this nature would be well received by the local occupational market.

“While there has been a number of mid-size and big box developments in the Wakefield area over recent years, there has been relatively little development of smaller units, despite good demand.”

Avison Young are the joint marketing agents for Flanshaw Way, together with Hazel Cooper of Carter Towler and Jonathan O’Connor of Ryden