10-acre development site sale keeps 250 jobs in Wakefield

Property development and investment company Eshton has sold its 10-acre site in Wakefield to civil engineering, utility and construction company Peter Duffy, a move which keeps 250 jobs in the area.

Leeds-based Eshton acquired the brownfield site in July 2016 and undertook a major demolition and enabling package to bring the site back into use.

The developer also secured a new planning consent which vastly improved the flexibility and deliverability of the site.

The development site at Flanshaw Way will house the new head office for Peter Duffy and its business operations, including civil engineering, rail, and plant hire together with DrainsAid and Baile Developments.

Rob Hudson, commercial director at Peter Duffy, says: “Having a growing business with a diverse service offering meant that our current location could no longer accommodate our requirements and we had to look for a new site that could house our operations and 250 employees.

“We’ve been in Wakefield for 20 years and as a local employer were keen to keep our roots in the area. When Eshton completed its works and made Flanshaw Way available, it was too good an opportunity to miss. The site suits us both as an employer of local people and logistically with its excellent motorway links.

“Eshton worked hard at delivering the site with the benefit of the new planning consent which works well for us and flexibility it gives to tailor the premises to meet our exact needs is great for future growth.”

David Singleton, director at Eshton, added: “We are delighted to have attracted a local occupier to our site and to help a Wakefield business expand whilst keeping its operations and jobs in the community.”

The Leeds office of GVA and Carter Towler acted for Eshton in the sale of the site.