Construction of a purpose-built engineering, production and office facility for Moog Industrial Group at Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire is expected to start this summer, it was announced today.
Commercial property developers Chase Commercial Ltd and joint venture partners Hortons’ Estate have gained planning consent from Tewkesbury Borough Council for a 45,000 sq ft two storey unit at their four-acre site, Ashchurch 9, near junction 9 of the M5.
“The Ashchurch 9 scheme is expected to take around twelve months to complete and be ready for occupation by Moog in Summer 2015”, said Chase Commercial director Julian Meredith.
“Confirmation that the design and build project is set to start soon reinforces the perception that confidence is returning to the commercial property sector”, said Mr Meredith.
It will allow Moog to relocate its existing UK Industrial Motion Control and Service business – already a major employer in Tewkesbury – to a brand new, purpose built facility close to Ashchurch Parkway railway station. It will accommodate around 100 people, of which 60% are employed in either an engineering or assembly role.
The new building will deliver at least 23,842 ft² of manufacturing space with an additional 20,053 ft² of office space to support both hydraulic and electric motion control applications and service in industrial markets such as motorsport, test, industrial automation, and energy, whilst providing sufficient capacity for future expansion. In addition it will accommodate support roles such as, IT, Sales, HR and Marketing.
Moog is well-known in the UK as the designer and manufacturer of the equipment that controls the centre court’s retractable roof at Wimbledon and as a leader in motion control products for Formula 1 racing cars. In addition, Moog also provides solutions, product and service for a variety of high performance machines and equipment. The company, has been operating out of Europe for nearly 50 years.
Chris Curr, general manager at Moog, said: “Space in our current facility has become constrained as our business has expanded with high-end engineering projects. We have also operated over the past few years with members of our team at remote sites, so this new facility will bring everyone together in one building, enabling us to provide our workforce with a modern and comfortable working environment in line with our company culture and maintain our high level of customer focus.”
Ashchurch 9 is well located approximately 1 mile from Junction 9 of the M5 providing direct access to Gloucester and Cheltenham each approximately 10 miles south, to Worcester approximately 15 miles north and Birmingham approximately 45 miles north. Access to the site is from the A46 trunk road and Northway Lane.
Richard Norgrove of Hortons’ Estate commented “We are pleased to be working with Chase Commercial and Moog in the delivery of their new facility and we look forward to seeing the unit completed.”
Chase Commercial is working with architects Davis Weatherill Partnership to deliver the project.
Mr Meredith added: “We are very pleased to be able to make a start on the construction of new facilities on behalf of Moog. This is the first industrial design and build project for Chase since the downturn in 2008. We are now keen to do more and we are actively seeking new opportunities..
“There has been a lot of talk in recent months of a return of confidence to the commercial property sector.. This deal demonstrates that the demand is improving and that developers such as Chase Commercial are willing to begin building again when the opportunities arise.”
Chase Commercial has recently completed the Brook Retail Park development in Bromsgrove. The project includes two retail units – 25,000 sq ft and 9,000 sq ft – and parking for 161 cars. The units will be occupied by DIY chain Homebase and Pets at Home.
