One of the UK’s leading car dealership groups has been given approval to create a major new car sales facility in Wolverhampton, Stoford Developments and Bridges Fund Management announced today.
Arnold Clark, which has over 200 dealerships across the UK, is investing millions of pounds in a new showroom and associated facilities at Pantheon Park, Wednesfield Way, near Wolverhampton.
The four-acre development site will accommodate a Motorstore, display forecourt, secure compound and vehicle preparation building. It is seen as being key to Arnold Clark’s expansion of its wider business operations in the area.
A planning application to City of Wolverhampton Council has been approved subject to completion of a planning agreement and work is expected to start on site in Q1 2019.
Stoford development manager Angus Huntley said: “It’s great news that Arnold Clark’s proposal has been approved and it marks a major investment in Wolverhampton, paving the way for further investment into the scheme which will create additional high-quality jobs.”
He added: “Alongside Bridges Fund Management, and with the support of the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, we’ve worked hard to get the site ready for development and it is pleasing to see construction could begin early next year.”
Pantheon Park is an 18-acre site, which is ready for construction to begin following a programme of remediation and demolition. The development is a joint venture between Birmingham-based Stoford Developments and Bridges Fund Management, a specialist sustainable and impact investor. The enabling works have been supported by a loan of over £2 million by the Black Country LEP.
Guy Bowden, acquisitions director at Bridges Fund Management, said: “We believe the Pantheon Park development represents a great opportunity on both fronts: by reclaiming this valuable land which has been vacant for a decade, we can help meet the clear shortfall in supply of high-quality warehouse space locally, creating hundreds of jobs and hopefully contributing to the regeneration of the area in the process.”
Pantheon Park has detailed planning permission for four schemes providing build to suit units from 30,000 sq ft up to 412,000 with 24/7 operations. Once completed the whole scheme is expected to create around 400 jobs. Stoford and Bridges are represented by Bulleys, JLL and Latham High.
Stoford is one of the UK’s leading commercial developers. It has delivered projects totaling over 13 million sq ft of floor space across the UK since it was founded in 1996 and currently has more than 1.5 million sq ft of space under construction throughout the UK.