Member Article

Wolverhampton set for jobs boost as Pantheon plans approved

Plans have been approved for a multi-million pound industrial/warehouse scheme that is set to generate significant employment opportunities in the West Midlands.

Leading commercial property developer, Stoford Developments and specialist sustainable and impact investor, Bridges Fund Management, will develop four Grade A industrial/warehouse units at Pantheon Park in Wolverhampton, after planning consent was granted by the City of Wolverhampton Council.

Work will start next month (March 2019) on the four units, which vary in size from 30,000 sq ft to 82,850 sq ft, with practical completion scheduled for November 2019. A&H Construction has been appointed as contractor.

Stoford and Bridges Fund Management recently secured a £23 million funding agreement with Royal London Asset Management for the development of the 18-acre site in Wednesfield, which is expected to create in the region of 250 jobs once fully occupied.

The Pantheon Park development will be officially launched to an audience in the region of 45 property professionals from the West Midlands industrial market on the 6th February. The launch event will feature guest speaker and England Rugby World Cup winning captain, Martin Johnson.

Angus Huntley, Development Manager, Stoford Developments, said: “Pantheon Park is a high-quality development that will appeal to local and national occupiers and create job opportunities for people in the Wolverhampton region. We’ve worked hard to get the site ready for development following an extensive programme of remediation and demolition, supported by a loan of over £2 million by the Black Country LEP and are excited at the prospect of work starting on site this month.”

Guy Bowden, Partner, Property Funds, Bridges Fund Management, said: “The new development is a response to strong occupier demand, while also having a positive impact on the local area. The remediation work has regenerated a brownfield site that has been derelict for over a decade. We will be using sustainable construction technology to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’ and we expect approximately 250 jobs will be created once fully occupied. We are delighted to be working with Stoford and Royal London on such an exciting project.”

Daniel Shepherd, Assistant Fund Manager, RLAM, said: “We are delighted to enter into partnership with Bridges and Stoford, which fits with our fund strategy to utilise local development expertise to provide Grade A industrial accommodation in core long term locations. The proposed development will provide a range of unit sizes that fits with local and national demand for distribution and manufacturing.”

Pantheon Park is situated in a prime industrial and logistics location just 2 miles from Wolverhampton city centre, 4 miles from M6 (J10) via the A454, and 3.4 miles from Junction 1 of the M54. The site also benefits from its close proximity to the M6 Toll, M5, M54 and M42 motorways.

The adjacent Bentley Bridge Retail Park hosts a combination of shops, restaurants and leisure amenities, with occupiers including Argos, Bella Italia, PureGym, Sainsbury’s and Sports Direct.

Planning consent has also been granted for a major new car sales site at Pantheon Park on behalf of UK-leading car dealership Arnold Clark, with an additional unit earmarked for business storage company, Lok’nStore.

Stoford has delivered projects totaling over 13 million sq ft of floor space across the UK since 1996, while Bridges Fund Management has a 15-year track record of delivering strong commercial returns alongside measurable social and environmental benefits.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by paul king .