Redsun Projects has secured a £5.4million funding package from West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) for a new 80,000 sq ft industrial scheme in Telford.
The scheme, which is expected to be home to more than 200 jobs once fully let, comes after the developer secured planning consent in June and acquired the five-acre site from Homes England in September, a deal which was facilitated by Telford & Wrekin Borough Council.
Located on Halesfield Industrial Estate, the scheme known as Pioneer Park, will comprise three high-quality, energy-efficient buildings offering 23,000 sq ft, 14,000 sq ft and 40,000 sq ft. Bulleys Bradley has been appointed as sole letting agent for Pioneer Park.
Speaking about the scheme, Nick Wightman, director at Redsun, commented: “This deal is an excellent example of what can be achieved when the private and public sectors work collaboratively. Pioneer Park will meet the latent occupier demand in this area and bring further investment and jobs to the region. With the funding and detailed planning consent now in place, our focus turns to appointing a contractor with a projected start on site scheduled for the first quarter of next year.”
Pioneer Park is one of many schemes currently being funded from the WMCA’s multi-million investment programme to unlock and transform brownfield sites to provide much needed new commercial property, jobs and homes.
WMCA investments have continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to provide market confidence and put in place the building blocks required to drive the region’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery,
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, said: “Transforming existing brownfield land into new homes, communities and businesses, has been one of the real success stories of the West Midlands in recent years and despite the challenges thrown up by the pandemic we have kept on investing in these regeneration projects.
“Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak we have actually secured even more cash from Government for this work, and I am delighted we are continuing to help redevelop new sites like this one in Telford.
“As well as protecting the Green Belt, the redevelopment of derelict or dormant urban sites will also play a critical role in the region’s economic recovery from coronavirus. By funding schemes like this one we can help guarantee work for local firms while creating new jobs for local people.”
Ed Bradburn, investment director at Frontier Development Capital (FDC), who manage the fund on behalf of WMCA, continued: “Over the last seven months alone the WMCA has approved over £27million of loan funding for developments within the West Midlands. Pioneer Park is another great example of a WMCA funded scheme which will bring further jobs and investment to the West Midlands region. Since the WMCA Loan funds were launched in late 2016, £182m of investment has been approved to support over 45 development projects across the West Midlands Combined Authority area.”
The Redsun scheme is the latest example of the WMCA’s brownfield-first approach to new commercial and housing schemes, which sees urban sites regenerated and derelict industrial land cleaned up and made ready for development, helping to relieve pressure on the Green Belt.
A focus on brownfield development also formed part of the region’s £3.2bn investment blueprint which was submitted to Government in July and designed to recharge the regional economy and create long-term prosperity.
Ministers recently signalled their intention to back the blueprint, which had sought extra cash to extend the region’s brownfield-first programme, by announcing a further £84m for the WMCA to accelerate the redevelopment of derelict or dormant urban plots.
Pioneer Park will be located at the gateway to the Halesfield Industrial Estate surrounded on three sides by Halesfield 18, Halesfield 16 and the A4169. Junction 4 of the M54 and Telford Town Centre are both 6 minutes’ drive from the site via the A442. The M6 motorway is 25 mins drive from the site via the M54. Nearby occupiers include Cedo, Link 51 and CML.