Despite the reluctance of private developers to gamble on speculative builds, activity is returning to Northampton a leading commercial agent has claimed.
“Many developers have come out of hibernation and are now heavily promoting sites which are already fully serviced, ready for new development, albeit on a design-and-build basis,” said Ian Harman, a director at commercial agents Prop-Search. “Occupiers are also showing more interest in these opportunities as little choice is available within the second-hand market.”
Among the most significant sites being offered across the county are:
In the county town of Northampton itself — where there is a dire shortage of Grade A office space — there are a number of commercial projects already underway.
Structural work is nearing completion on the University of Northampton’s new £8.5m Innovation Centre. Situated opposite the town’s Black Lion Hill railway station, undergoing its own £20m upgrade, the flagship complex will open next February and offer 42 office units, a café and a conference suite. It is expected to create at least 300 jobs.
Earlier in the year the Cosworth engineering and manufacturing group also started work on its new £12m Advanced Manufacturing Centre within the Waterside Enterprise Zone.
The new facility, the first of its kind in the UK, will manufacture components and assemble some of the world’s most advanced engines for international automotive manufacturers.
With joint funding from Northampton Borough Council and the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership, the pioneering project was only made possible through a commitment from local authority to build the facility on a lease-back agreement.
And in the south of the county, the Faccenda Group is reportedly investing £5m in a new distribution hub, adjoining its existing poultry processing plant at Brackley which it upgraded two years ago as part of an £8m investment. To be built over the coming year, the logistics scheme will include an advanced 30,000sq ft storage and distribution facility.
Harman said that Prop-Search is also marketing the mixed-use Wellingborough North development, at Upper Redhill, which has already received consented for up to 500,000 sq ft of commercial floor space and 3,000 dwellings.
“Throughout Northamptonshire,” he added, “we have now been instructed to sell more than 12m square feet across 20 sites.”
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