Race starts for £9m North Wales & Cheshire food tech hub
Procurement has started to find a development partner to bring forward a 23,000 sq ft food production and research facility aimed at businesses in Cheshire West & Chester, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wirral.
The facility, to be built within the Redwither Business Park on Wrexham industrial estate, is being procured by Wrexham Council and will cover nearly four acres of land owned by the local authority.
The council is aiming to build nine separate units for food production and research for businesses and education providers in North Wales and Cheshire. This includes three units of 1,250 sq ft; four units of 2,500 sq ft; and two 5,000 sq ft units. There will also be a main office building alongside nearly 200 car parking spaces.
These units can be used for food production, as incubator space for small businesses, or for food testing and analysis, including screening for allergens, nutrition, and food chemistry.
The hub is intended to act as a sister development to existing facilities at the North West Food Research Development Centre at the University of Chester’s Parkgate Road campus, and will provide growth space and additional facilities for businesses based at Parkgate Road.
The procurement of a development partner follows a feasibility study carried out by the council in 2015. The existing buildings on the site, including a 1950s office, are due to be demolished to make way for the scheme.
