The Forrest Park development to expand Aycliffe Business Park is full steam ahead after £13m-worth of infrastructure works were completed.
And developers have now revealed exciting plans for the remainder of the site, with a range of industrial and warehousing space across as well as a hotel and pub.
Forrest Park (Newton Aycliffe), a joint venture by Durham County Council and local landowners the Forrest family, has signed a development agreement with Richardson Barberry to develop out the 110-acre site.
The roadside retail development by Euro Garages has already seen a petrol filling station built which includes a convenience store attached to the filling station and a stand-alone KFC drive-through restaurant.
The ambition is that over the next 10 years, the park will provide 1.8m sq ft of industrial space and create over 3,000 jobs, boosting County Durham’s economy by almost half a billion pounds.
The site expands Aycliffe Business Park – already the largest in the North-East – and will accommodate a range of business, industrial, warehouse and trade units, as well as a 60-bed hotel, public house and roadside restaurant and retail space next to the A1(M).
The signing of the development agreement with Richardson Barberry and the first development by Euro Garages are significant steps in the first stages of the park’s progress and demonstrate a continued developer confidence in the county as a place to invest.
The park is part of the council’s long-term ambitions to create a thriving environment for businesses and investors to develop and grow while creating and safeguarding more and better jobs.
This will also be crucial to the county’s economic recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Cllr Carl Marshall, the council’s former cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “The signing of this development agreement by Richardson Barberry is a significant milestone for Forrest Park, as it declares globally that the park is officially open for business.
“This first sale of land is just the start of what the park has to offer in boosting the county’s economy, particularly in its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, by attracting international investors to the county from across the globe and in turn creating thousands of high-quality jobs for our local residents. We look forward to welcoming more retailers and businesses to the park as its development grows.”
Jonathan Robinson, Barberry Industrial director and shareholder, said: “Barberry, and 50/50 joint venture partners Richardson, are excited at the prospect of delivering one of the North-East’s premier business parks, stimulating economic growth and creating new jobs for the region.
“We have made significant progress over recent months and we are now delighted to be in the position to launch the site to potential occupiers. This is a highly attractive location for a range of major businesses, with units available in a wide range of sizes.
“We can provide building options for smaller occupiers on the trade park and bigger building options of circa 20,000 sq ft to 1m sq ft footprint on the site. Local, regional, national and international occupiers have already expressed interest in this prominent, motorway-connected, serviced and consented site, which is oven-ready for development and has access to an excellent, skilled labour demographic.”
Neil Findlay, development manager for Euro Garages, said: “Working closely with the Forrest Park (Newton Aycliffe) team, we were delighted to complete the acquisition of this site at Forrest Park.
“As an organisation we look forward to bringing our first in class roadside retail offer to the park and the wider Newton Aycliffe area.”