Keyland Developments Ltd, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister-company to Yorkshire Water, has unveiled plans for a major new industrial and business park on a 57 acre former water treatment works site in West Yorkshire which could generate around 1000 new jobs.
In line with Keyland’s strategy of regenerating Yorkshire Water’s redundant sites, it is preparing to submit a planning application to Kirklees Council to transform the former North Bierley Waste Water Treatment Works, which is strategically located to the north of the M62 and the east of the M606 in West Yorkshire.
The plans seek to create some 500,000 sqft of employment space in a range of industrial and distribution uses designed to address the chronic shortage of new industrial accommodation in the region. In the first half of 2014, almost 550,000 sqft of industrial space was acquired within Yorkshire which was double the amount let in the same period last year. This resulted in a severe drop in supply of stock with particularly limited availability along the M62 corridor in West Yorkshire.
Nearby business parks in North Kirklees and South Bradford, as well as the wider area, are already operating at full capacity, offering very limited opportunities for local and regionally based businesses to expand.
Keyland’s proposals could bring back into use one of the most strategically located and extensive sites within the region and see the creation of an employment-generating industrial and business park which would make a significant contribution to the economic regeneration of the locality.
Peter Garrett, Managing Director of Keyland Developments Ltd, said; “The chronic shortage of quality industrial accommodation within the region has been well documented and the creation of this new park is intended to address that and also deliver a significant number of new jobs and expansion opportunities to the local area.
“The North Bierley site has been redundant since 2010 and, due to its capacity and exceptional connectivity, lends itself ideally to industrial usage. We are looking forward to progressing with our planning application in the forthcoming weeks.”
Mike Dove, Partner at Dove Haigh Phillips, consultant to Keyland commented; “This site has such multi-level appeal due to the proposed combination of unit sizes. It is welcome news not only for the broader market where supply is so restricted but also for more local and regional businesses who have been successfully operating from nearby business parks and wish to expand. With such a strong location on the M62 corridor, this scheme will inevitably draw in regional investment which is extremely positive news.”