A £16.2million construction project at the only enterprise zone (EZ) in the country overseen by two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) which saw six major firms working together, has come to fruition.
Great Bear Distribution, a leading UK logistics company, will relocate from its offices in Chester to the Markham Vale Enterprise Zone – located on the site of the former Seymour Colliery – into a new purpose-built 480,000sq.ft distribution hub, the external framework of which has now been fully constructed. Work has now begun to furnish the inside of the building, with an expected completion of December this year (2016).
Markham Vale is the only EZ in the country to be overseen by both the Sheffield City Region and D2N2 LEPs. EZ status means that businesses who set up there can benefit from new, state-of-the-art workspaces, as well as possible tax and rate reductions. D2N2 is the LEP serving Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and oversees two enterprise zones as part of its mission to grow its areas economy, with the aim of creating 55,000 new jobs in ten years (2013-2023). It also oversees the Nottingham and Derby EZ, which has sites at Infinity Park, Beeston and Boots.
As part of this mission, it is also investing £2.52million in another major piece of infrastructure connected with the Markham Vale site. The £7.5million Seymour Link road will link the M1 motorway to Markham Vale, giving the enterprise zone its own motorway junction and ‘unlocking’ areas of the site for future development. Additional funding for the project is being provided by Derbyshire County Council and the Sheffield City Region LEP. Work on the road is ongoing, and completion is expected in early November of this year (2016).
David Ralph, D2N2 Chief Executive said:
“Developing Enterprise Zone sites is key to our economic ambitions and at the heart of D2N2’s Strategic Economic Plan, with its overarching ambition to create 55,000 new private sector jobs in key industries, over ten years.
“To that end we are not only investing in Markham Vale, which will benefit hugely from the Seymour Link Road to the M1, but also the Nottingham and Derby Enterprise Zone sites.”
Commenting at the start of works on the new distribution hub, Glenn Lindfield, CEO of Great Bear added:
“We are extremely pleased with how quickly Henry Boot Developments and Bowmer & Kirkland have been able to deliver our new 480,000 square feet distribution facility at Markham Vale.
“The bespoke unit will add a significant amount of additional capacity to the Great Bear network and with the immediate access to the UK motorway system, Markham Vale will provide us with an advantage to servicing our clients up and down the country.”
To find out more about the Nottingham and Derby Enterprise Zones, click here
For more information on the Markham Vale Enterprise Zone, click here
For more information on the Sheffield City Region LEP, click here
For more information on the above release, please contact Sam Burbage, Social Media and Marketing Officer at the D2N2 LEP on 01159 578254, or by email: sam.burbage@d2n2lep.org
