Ready for take off
THE LAUNCH today of a £110m industrial development at Durham Tees Valley Airport is set to generate around 2,000 jobs and attract massive inward investment.
The Skylink estate will comprise predominantly large-scale industrial and distribution centres on a 250-acre site to the south of the airport.
A main road will run through the centre, providing direct links with the A67, while light industrial and ancillary offices will also be created.
Joe Docherty, chief executive of project partner Tees Valley Regeneration, confirmed that “discussions have begun with potential partners” for the scheme.
He said the development was “another indicator of the Tees Valley’s innovation and ambition”.
“We offer a skilled and available workforce, low operating costs, a great logistics infrastructure, a committed business support network and fantastic quality of life,” he said.
The government’s recent decision to abolish rate relief on empty commercial properties, widely regarded as a disincentive for speculative development, would not put the brakes on the project, he said.
It won’t make developments any easier, but we have factored this into our strategic planning for this project,” said Mr Docherty.
The park will offer more than 1.9m sq ft of space and target freight companies and other airport-related businesses needing premises ranging from 20,000-500,000 sq ft.
Construction of phase one will start early next year.
The airport’s parent company, Peel Holdings, which also owns John Lennon Airport, Liverpool, Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster, Sheffield, and Sheffield City Airport, has successfully launched similar projects elsewhere.
Other partners in the project include regional development agency, One Northeast, national regeneration agency English Partnerships and Stockton Council.
Ed Rowley, acting director of regeneration at One NorthEast, said regeneration projects across the Tees Valley were helping to establish the area as a leading business location.
He said: “Skylink International Business Park has tremendous potential, both in terms of the jobs it will help create and the economic impact it will have.
“Developments like it are changing the face of the Tees Valley, and the region as a whole, for the better.”
Hugh Lang, chief executive of Durham Tees Valley Airport, welcomed the scheme as “another milestone for the Tees Valley.”
