Redsun Projects has announced the completion of Pioneer Park, an 80,000 sq ft high quality, energy efficient industrial scheme in Telford with deals completed on all three units.
Designed by Fletcher Rae and constructed by Morris Property, Pioneer Park at Halesfield 18 was developed on a speculative basis following a £4.5million funding injection by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), managed by Frontier Development Capital (FDC).
Smartwater Group, advised by MK2 Real Estate, has taken unit 1 (23,000 sq ft) on a 15-year lease, unit 2 (14,000 sq ft) has been sold to Load Lock and the final 40,000 sq ft industrial building has been let to Sirane Ltd on a 10-year lease.
The development is a Telford Land Deal project, a partnership between Telford & Wrekin Council, Homes England and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) formed in 2015, which brings forward sites, de-risks them and provides shovel ready development sites which are available to develop for employment and residential use.
Redsun acquired the two-hectare site from Homes England in a sale which was facilitated by Telford & Wrekin Council through the Land Deal and the project has created local employment opportunities in a variety of site roles.
Speaking about the scheme, Nick Wightman, director at Redsun Projects, commented: “Securing occupiers for all three speculatively built units before completion demonstrates the strong uptake for high quality industrial buildings in Telford. Thanks to the funding provided by WMCA we have been able to build on the existing success of Halesfield Industrial Estate and attract more businesses to the scheme.
“Pioneer Park is an exemplar of what can be achieved when the right public funding is spent in the right way and we very much look forward to working with WMCA in the future.”
Ed Bradburn, investment director at FDC, who manage the fund on behalf of WMCA, continued:
“It’s great to see this speculative scheme securing occupiers before completion, exactly what the funds under our management are designed for. Redsun’s Pioneer Park is another example of the WMCA funds supporting the development of much-needed industrial warehousing in the West Midlands, creating further jobs and enhancing investment into the region. We look forward to working closely with Redsun in the future.”
James West, Chief Operating Officer for Morris Property, said: “This is an exciting time for our team in Telford. This was our first project in partnership with Redsun, who have already delivered one million square feet of commercial floorspace across the Northwest, West Midlands and North Wales.”
Councillor Lee Carter (Lab), Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Regeneration and the High Street, said: “It’s really pleasing to see Pioneer Park come to fruition and all three units on the site being secured.
“The Telford Land Deal partnership has created hundreds of jobs and this development at Halesfield is another example of the employment opportunities and new business which the project has brought and continues to bring to Telford.”
Lucy Blasdale, Director – Development at Homes England, said: “We are delighted to have worked with Telford & Wrekin Council and the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership in delivering this site to the market and agreeing the disposal to Redsun projects.
“This development has helped the growth of three existing Telford based companies into new high-quality premises with huge benefits for job safeguarding and creation and the continued growth of Telford and the wider borough of Telford & Wrekin.
“We wish Smartwater, Load Lock and Sirane the very best with their continued growth.”
Mandy Thorn MBE, chair of the Marches LEP, said: “It is wonderful to see the success of this scheme, which once again proves the huge contribution the Land Deal has made creating jobs and opportunities in Telford.
“It is further evidence of how the LEP’s unique method of partnership working is helping to bring jobs and new investment to our region.”
The wider project team includes Contractor Morris Property, Warrington Martin as project manager, Caulmert engineers and Crookes Walker Consulting acting as M&E consultants for the scheme.
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.