Investment plan given go-ahead
A TEESSIDE business park’s £450m investment plan - which could create 10,000 jobs - has been given the green light.
The project, at Wynyard Park, is designed to anticipate demand for premises over the next 15 to 20 years.
Hartlepool Council has now given the scheme the go-ahead after planning bosses gave their backing to the proposals.
Chris Musgrave, chief executive of Wynyard Park Ltd - the company developing the 700-acre site - said: “The planning committee’s decision is excellent news for both Hartlepool and Wynyard Park and we are obviously very pleased.
“We will now press on with the development to make sure that we can deliver the associated jobs and investment because, as our track record with the rest of the site shows, we keep our promises.
“We would like to thank the council officers and members for their support and for backing what we believe is a fantastic opportunity for future economic prosperity for the area.”
Work on the site is scheduled to start in the spring.
The site has already been developed in recent years.
More than £150m has so far been injected into the business park - which was the former home of electronics giant Samsung.
Over the next 15 to 20 years, three million square feet of office space is set to be created at the site.
While the existing development falls under Stockton Council’s remit, this latest application concerned land on the Hartlepool side.
Samsung announced the closure of its Wynyard microwave and PC monitor facility in February 2004 with the loss of 425 jobs.
But Wynyard Park is now home to more than 500 staff.
The success of the current development at the park has been rapid.
The 16 office units that form the recently completed Evolution complex have all been sold, while almost all of the accommodation in the showcase Lion Court development is let, including one whole floor to international project management and engineering services company Amec.
Meanwhile, already under construction on the other part of the site is the 10,000sq ft Kids First children’s day nursery which is due to open in January.
Thompson Construction, the contractor for the Wynyard scheme, has already started work on the site, which will create up to 40 jobs during its construction and about another 30 once the nursery is full.
Also under way is an 80,000sq ft traditional brick-built office scheme (Wynyard Park Business Village) and more than 120,000sq ft of high specification industrial units.
Wynyard Park Ltd has already begun to plan the first phase of the new development, comprising three headquarter-style buildings incorporating approximately 90,000sq ft and valued at £15m.
With planning permission granted, work on this part of the scheme will now start in March 2008 with completion towards the end of the year.
Wynyard Park is located at the junction of the A19 five miles north of Middlesbrough, between Hartlepool and Stockton.
The site was created following the amalgamation of the Wynyard One site and the neighbouring Wynyard Business Park to create Wynyard Park at the end of August 2005.
