Construction starts on Crown Business Park

A joint venture between Centric Property Group and Barnfield Construction has acquired 18 acres in Rochdale to develop a 260,000 sq ft business park.

The site is next to the M62 motorway and was acquired from Fortis Bank, with planning permission for 90,000 sq ft of offices and 170,000 sq ft of industrial space.

The development, known as Crown Business Park, is the first of a number of acquisitions planned by the JV which aims to develop business parks throughout the North.

The acquisition was completed at the end of August and construction has already commenced on the first phase of the development, which will see 20,000 sq ft offices and 30,000 sq ft of industrial space completed by summer 2011.

The first phase will also see the rest of the 18 acres opened up and serviced, ready for future phases of development. The site was acquired without bank funding, however, Royal Bank of Scotland are providing funding towards the construction of the first phase.

Total funding from partners amounts to £9.2m, with the land acquired from Fortis Bank totalling £3m and the first phase of the development costing £6.2m.

The project has also been part funded by the European Regional Development Fund which provided £3.2m to prepare the 18-acre brownfield site for the development of a business park.

David Malpass, director of the European programme at the North West Development Agency, said: "Located close to junction 20 of the M62, Crown Business Park will become part of the region's portfolio of sub-regionally important employment sites. This development will provide much needed quality buildings to the Rochdale market. It has the opportunity to attract Small Medium Enterprise companies from the local area, in particular those in the financial and business services sector, creating jobs and boosting the local economy."

Managed by the NWDA, the European Regional Development Fund allocates funding to different regions throughout the European Union to boost economic development in less prosperous areas.

Nolan Redshaw acted for the purchaser and has been retained.