Marshall buys 22 acres at Earlsfield Park

The site is earmarked for an industrial scheme, part of Ion Development’s wider £62m Knowsley project. 

Liverpool-based Ion has offloaded the 22-acre Earlsfield Park plot to Marshall CDP following the completion of infrastructure works. 

Ion’s works included highway improvements to Knowsley Lane – comprising a new cycle route, a traffic signal-controlled junction to access the site, a sustainable urban drainage system, an estate road to service development plots, landscaping and a primary substation. 

The site has outline planning consent for 280,000 sq ft of industrial space.  

Under a separate deal, Marshall CDP has also acquired a four-acre plot earmarked for a pub and hotel. 

Ion’s masterplan for Earlsfield Park, drawn up by Ryder Architecture, was approved by Knowsley Council in 2018. 

Since then, housebuilder Bellway has begun the delivery of 154 homes across a 13-acre swathe of the site. 

In addition, Eurogarages is nearing completion of its petrol filling station and drive-thru coffee shop on a two-acre plot. 

Steve Parry, managing director of Ion Development said: ‘We are delighted to announce the completion of the Earlsfield Park infrastructure works and the sale of 22 acres of development land to Marshall CDP. 

“[Earlsfield Park’s] prominent gateway location makes it a perfect sustainable choice for a prestigious employment park. Marshall CDP is well set to turn this vision into a reality – with an excellent track record in high quality construction.” 

Parry added that the sale of the land to Marshall would allow Ion to “concentrate our efforts on city centre and residential schemes, with a determination to create zero-carbon developments and focus on modern methods of construction”. 

The company has just completed i9, a 52,000 sq ft office scheme in Wolverhampton and is leading on the redevelopment of the former Festival Gardens site in Liverpool into up to 1,500 homes.