Harworth Estates has announced that it will speculatively develop two units totalling 52,000 sq. ft as part of the expansion of the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Waverley, Rotherham – the UK’s premier advanced technology park.
Demand for further space has prompted Harworth to bring forward this next phase of development and signals the company’s next wave of investment in Rotherham, following its £2.2m purchase of the nearby 20,000 sq. ft Sanderson House office building at the beginning of March.
The new units – a scheme of 2 terraced units across 3 acres – forms part of ‘R-evolution Phase 2 @ The AMP’ and will build on the award-winning scheme’s success by providing floorspace aimed at high-value advanced manufacturers.
The new units will include the ability for future occupiers to sub-divide as necessary, thereby offering space between 5,000 sq. ft and 26,000 sq. ft. Harworth plans to practically complete these units by Quarter 1 2017, ready for leasehold occupation.
Funding for the construction of the new unit has come from a £2.71 million loan from the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (JESSICA) Fund. Two other new units at the AMP and four other units at Gateway 36 have been funded through this programme in the past two years.
The Advanced Manufacturing Park is already home to businesses that provide world-class technology solutions for use in precision industries including aerospace, defence, construction, automotive, sport and others. It is home to world-class organisations such as Boeing, Rolls Royce, the University of Sheffield, Castings Technology International (CTI), Dormer Tools, Sandvik Coromant and TWI. It forms part of Waverley – Yorkshire’s largest ever brownfield mixed-use development at 740 acres.
David Travis, Associate Director of Business Space at Harworth Estates, said: “The success of Phase 1 of R-evolution and our commitment to investing in Rotherham made this scheme the natural choice to bring forward next. Our focus is now on appointing a contractor both to build the units and to promote these units to local advanced manufacturing and engineering companies wanting to be part of the AMP’s success.”
The scheme will be marketed by jointly appointed agents Knight Frank and Gent Visick. Rebecca Schofield, Partner at Knight Frank’s Sheffield office, added: “We are witnessing good levels of demand from occupiers looking for space on the Advanced Manufacturing Park. R-evolution Phase 2 offers flexibility to accommodate requirements from 5,000 to 26,000 sq. ft and we are confident that the scheme will prove successful.”