Gerards Park plans unveiled
St Helens Council has sold a five-acre development site on College Street to Northern Trust for an undisclosed sum.
Supported with funding from the European Regional Development Fund, a £7.5m new development, known as Gerards Park, will be carried out in three phases.
The first phase will incorporate 30,677 sq ft of new workspace units ranging from 535 sq ft up to 3,779 sq ft.
Comprising of 21 units split into three blocks, Northern Trust said construction work on the initial 2 acres, is scheduled to commence in the autumn.
The site is located on the main arterial route between St Helens town centre and the A580, East Lancashire Road.
Units over 500 sq ft will also include a fully fitted office, while concrete service yards, loading facilities, car parking, and landscaping feature around the scheme.
Northern Trust added that it will undertake a full site remediation with initial ground work expected to begin in the next few weeks.
The site remediation will also bring forward a further 3 acres for the future phased development, and initial plans include the provision of a 30,000 sq ft office building which could be available on a pre-let basis.
The scheme will include construction of a new estate road, full site servicing and highways improvements.
Mike Grindrod, development director at Northern Trust, said: "Northern Trust already own two existing workshop estates in St Helens, and this new development shows our commitment to improving the prosperity of both the town and wider borough. By creating a range of modern industrial workshop units in sizes targeted at new start-up and SME businesses looking to relocate to the area we are confident the new development will prove a huge success."
Cllr Andy Bowden, cabinet member for urban regeneration and housing at St Helens Council, added: "This is a prime development site which used to be the home of the council's former operations team before moving to Hardshaw Brook Depot."
Northern Trust said it aims to achieve a BREEAM rating of excellent for the development.
The new development will be managed and marketed by Northern Trust's in house management company Whittle Jones North West.
