Real estate advisor Colliers International has been charged with helping to further economic growth in Lancashire by attracting high-tech manufacturing businesses and thousands of skilled jobs to the 50-hectare Samlesbury Enterprise Zone (EZ) in Lancashire.
Appointed by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Lancashire County Council following an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) tender process, Colliers International will market up to one million sq ft of business space at the strategically located Samlesbury EZ site between Preston and Blackburn to a range of advanced engineering and manufacturing businesses.
With a simplified planning process in place following the agreement of a development framework and Local Development Order, the Samlesbury EZ site can accommodate a wide range of business units ranging in size from 20,000 sq ft to circa 350,000 sq ft.
The EZ site is adjacent to BAE Samlesbury, headquarters of the military aircraft division of BAE Systems where more than 3,000 specialist staff are employed in construction of elements of the Eurofighter Typhoon and other aircraft including the American F-35 Lightning II and T-45 Goshawk.
Andy Delaney, Director, Development Consulting at Colliers International’s Liverpool office, said: “Lancashire is the UK’s number 1 in terms of aerospace activity and advanced manufacturing and is home to significant businesses of national and global importance.
“Our appointment to market the Samlesbury EZ site is a major and prestigious instruction for Colliers and one which places us at the very heart of the drive by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and Lancashire County Council to highlight the key attributes and benefits that Lancashire offers as well as stimulating interest, enquiries and inward investment opportunities.
“This Samlesbury Enterprise Zone aims to attract thousands of highly skilled, high value jobs to a high quality commercial development in the epicentre of the Northern Powerhouse.”
Mr Delaney explained that work on the site was already underway with construction of a new spine road linking the A59 with the A677. This new route will enhance the connectivity strengths of the EZ being located at the centre of the national motorway and rail network within easy reach of all major Northern cities and Manchester Airport and Liverpool Superport.
Edwin Booth, Chair of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, said: “The LEP has been successful in securing EZ status for four separate sites across Lancashire, at Samlesbury and Warton, the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone and the Hillhouse International Energy and Chemicals Enterprise Zone.
“This is the most EZ sites awarded to a single LEP in the country, which is a significant achievement.
“Our four EZ sites have a strong and complementary industrial focus, building on Lancashire’s national and international strengths in the aerospace, advanced engineering and manufacturing, energy and chemicals industries.
“Collectively, they will help to create over 10,000 highly productive high value jobs on site and thousands more in the supply chain. Combined, they make an economic and investor offer of truly Northern Powerhouse significance.
“Colliers will be marketing Samlesbury’s excellent location, rapidly improving connectivity, access to a highly skilled workforce and proximity to a supply chain featuring many high quality Lancashire businesses specifically geared up to support the automotive, aviation and hi-tech sectors.
“They will also help to highlight Lancashire’s position as the country’s largest aerospace cluster in order to attract more businesses to the site globally, and will take the LEP’s overarching inward investment message about Lancashire’s commercial strengths, and massive economic potential, to a wider range of markets going forward.”