Morston Assets - Industrial Development - Cannock, Kingswood Lakeside Employment Park
Date: 18 Nov 2002
Morston Assets, one of the UK's leading property regeneration specialists, announces that work is set to begin on the 2.5 million sq. ft. Kingswood Lakeside Employment Park at Cannock, Staffordshire, a £150m development that will create more than 2,000 jobs in the region.
The 350-acre Kingswood Lakeside project is situated in a prime location immediately adjacent to the UK's first toll motorway, the M6 Birmingham Northern Relief Road, now designated as the M6 Toll. Companies locating in the park will have direct access to the A5 as well as the motorway via an adjacent junction. Completion of the project is anticipated to coincide with the opening of the M6 Toll in late 2003/early 2004.
The regeneration scheme is one of Staffordshire's largest ever industrial land releases. Morston owns 70 acres in a central part of the park in a joint venture with Staffordshire County Council.
The site was previously an opencast coalmine, and Morston has agreed to spend an initial £5 million to prepare the site and provide state of the art infrastructure and services. As part of the project, the nearby natural lakes will be enhanced and the area will be further transformed by the planting of several thousand mixed deciduous trees.
Phase One, to be developed by Morston on completion of the initial works, is expected to start in Summer 2003 and will comprise more than 60 acres of high quality office, industrial and warehouse space and is expected to draw more than £100m of investment into the region. The second phase of the development will comprise a further 45 acres of office and industrial space, for which outline planning permission has already been secured.
Morston Assets has awarded the contract for the initial work to VHE Construction plc, a subsidiary of the Montpellier Group. Work is expected to begin within the next few days.
Tom Harrison, Managing Director of Morston Assets, commented: "This scheme will provide a significant boost to the local economy and attract vital new business to the region, as well as creating more than 2,000 jobs. Kingswood Lakeside will not only be a wonderful place to work but its location, next to Britain's newest motorway, makes it one of the most accessible business parks in the country."
"Kingswood Lakeside forms the most substantial regeneration project the region has seen for decades. We are poised to transform an opencast coalmine into one of the most attractive, best-sited places to do business in The Midlands. Morston has built its reputation over the years as a regeneration specialist through our extensive involvement in schemes across the UK, and we are delighted to be bringing our skills and expertise to help with this project. "
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