St Modwen commits £4m to Warth improvements

Warth Business Park in Bury is to undergo a redevelopment programme as owner St Modwen looks to reinvigorate the 14.3-acre site.

The developer, which bought the park for £9.5m in 2015, cited increasing confidence in the local market and a lack of available office and industrial space in the Bury area for triggering the project at what is the largest single-ownership commercial estate in Bury.

The multi-let 283,860 sq ft park, located between Bury, Radcliffe, the M66 and M60, will be partly reconfigured to deliver new industrial and office accommodation ranging in size from 1,500 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft. In all, there will be 140,000 sq ft of commercial space reconfigured and refurbished, and five new acres of compounds created.

Warth as it stands offers industrial and office space, a business centre, self-storage and storage compounds, and an onsite café.

The investment programme will include the removal of redundant units, replacement roofs and a comprehensive installation of new power, water and data infrastructure. The business centre will undergo external improvements and masonry repairs will be carried out to the original mill building.

David Nuttall, senior development manager for St. Modwen, said: “Warth Business Park is a well known site; it is conveniently located between Bury and Radcliffe and is easy to reach from the M66 and M60. It has always attracted good levels of demand from a range of local and national occupiers.

“We have confidence in the local market and know that this investment will help address the current lack of supply. We have a variety of accommodation on site and a range of good quality tenants. We’re looking to build on this solid base, create opportunities for growth and create value by delivering a range of high quality refurbished units for the Bury market.”

The site was the home of Macpherson Paints until the mid-1990s and has been operating as a multi-let business park for more than 15 years. St Modwen is also Bury Council’s development partner on Chamberhall Business Park.

Joint letting agents for the Warth scheme are Nolan Redshaw and Davies Harrison, while the professional team for the development project includes project manager Knight Frank, AEW Architects, M&E contractor CPW, planning consultant GVA and engineer Rodgers Leask.