New business park adds to construction group portfolio
A DONCASTER motor company’s decision to diversify has given a new lease of life to one of its sites in Hull and provided other businesses with the opportunity to invest and expand into the heart of the renewables region.
The transformation of the former Motorhog site into Tower House Lane Business Park also signals completion of the latest project by Hull-based PDR Construction.
A key to the success of the project was the ability of Motorhog’s management to secure European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) investment and as a result ensure high specification throughout the 13 units on the site of nearly two acres.
Dale Gooderham of Garness Jones chartered surveyors said: “Once Motorhog decided they no longer needed the site for their car sales and spares business it was a straightforward decision for them to explore its potential as a business park.
“The location across the road from the Green Port Hull development is a significant attraction, as is the quality of the build and fit-out. Every week at the moment we hear another story of progress with renewables in Hull, from Dong Energy committing to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm off our coast to Siemens beginning the recruitment of apprentices.
“That said, the growth of renewables is only part of the story in Hull and on the dock estate. As individual units Tower House Lane Business Park is ideal for small businesses and trade counter operators, and the flexibility which comes from being able to merge multiple units will help to attract larger businesses.”
The units are all newly built and start at 1,566 sq ft with the potential to take adjoining buildings up to 14,810 sq ft. The total space available is 24,270 sq ft with parking for all the units and electric gated access to the site.
Richard Martin, managing director of Motorhog, said the company has another industrial estate in Doncaster but the main focus remains the motor business.
He said: “We have another motor site in Hull so decided to put this one forward for development. There is not a great deal of good quality industrial space available and we expect demand to increase because of the investment which is coming into Hull and particularly that part of the city.
“It would have been difficult to develop something of this scale and quality without the ERDF input. It needed a significand investment on our part and the ERDF grant enabled us to ensure this site is a higher specification than anything else in this area of the market.”
PDR Construction’s current order book will see the company start work on a new headquarters for Hull-based IT Spectrum at Bridgehead, a divisional office in Immingham for DSV, a new Nissan dealership Grimsby for Hull-based Trenton Motors and completion this month of the first new-build, new-look Netto store in Bransholme. The company is also building at another 12 sites across the UK.
Paul Dransfield, managing director of the company, said: “We were successful in the tender process for Motorhog and the project demonstrates our keenness to maintain a constant local presence. This site along with the recent completion of The Beacon in Hull, Bridgehead at Hessle, Green Park at Newport and Hymers College in Hull was a significant proportion of PDR turnover for 2015/2016.
“Tower House Lane was a brownfield site which has been remediated to create self-contained industrial units with quality finishes which should set the development above any comparable stock in the area. Location wise, the site sits opposite the Associated British Ports complex at Hedon Road which is starting to take shape with the new blade factory and associated developments for Siemens.”
