Plans outlined for £100m M-SParc expansion
A £100m thermal and hydraulic testing facility could form a future phase of M-SParc, the science and business park on the Isle of Anglesey, which already has outline planning consent for seven additional buildings.
The first phase of the park, operated by Bangor University just off the A55 at Gaerwen, was completed by contractor Willmott Dixon earlier this year, with FaulknerBrowns as architect. The £20m initial phase includes 31,200 sq ft of office space, including 23 laboratories and workshops, and the wider site has planning approval for 245,000 sq ft of space.
Speaking at Place North West’s Anglesey: Energy Island event, hosted in partnership with the Anglesey Enterprise Zone, Dylan Williams, head of economic development and regulation at Isle of Anglesey Council, said M-SParc, the University, and the Council, alongside the Welsh Government, were now looking to bring forward a £100m thermal and hydraulic testing facility at the site.
A tender process is expected to begin for this site by the end of summer.
The site is also being mooted as a potential home to a development facility for Hitachi, which is bringing forward the £12bn Wylfa Newydd nuclear plant on the island through its subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power.
Also speaking at the event, Pryderi ap Rhisiart, managing director of M-SParc, said the business park had now hit 40% occupancy, comfortably ahead of its initial target of 15%, two months after opening.
A number of businesses have already relocated to the park from across the island, while other businesses have moved from Chester and Manchester to take space. There have also been companies looking to move from Ireland.
He said the next batch of plots at the park were “ready to go”, covering around 30 acres of land. A design-and-build contract for some of this plots is expected to be issued in October, while the infrastructure for the site is already in place.
Click here for a full in-depth report of the event, including slides and photos