MORE jobs and businesses will hopefully be attracted to Barnsley with the creation of two more speculative business properties close to the M1 supported by a council fund aimed at growing the economy.
Barnsley Council said it will be supporting the development of two high-quality commercial units at Dodworth as part of the second phase of its Property Investment Fund programme.
The two new units of 23,900 sq ft and 15,000 sq ft will be built by Marshall Construction at Capitol Park, next to junction 37 of the M1.
The properties, due to be completed in September, will be available to businesses on a freehold or leasehold basis.
It continues the work to create speculative business accommodation - new large buildings designed to attract incoming or expanding businesses, rather than built for a specific company or user.
The original Property Investment Fund project, completed in 2016 at junction 36 near Birdwell, was created to accommodate expanding local businesses and attract new companies to the borough. It created 230,000 sq ft of commercial property which brought £19m of private sector investment to Barnsley.
Matt Gladstone, an executive director at Barnsley Council, said two years on property enquiry levels continue to grow and are at the highest level for eight years.
He said extra properties will help entice new businesses to the borough, support the expansion of existing businesses and help the council to continue to grow the local economy.
“As part of our Jobs and Business Plan we aim to help create an additional 17,000 jobs in Barnsley by 2033,” he said.
“PIF2 will work towards achieving this and help us to utilise existing commercial sites and make sure they are fully developed.
“We are extremely excited to see the new development at Capitol Park get underway and can’t wait to welcome new businesses to the borough or support local companies in their growth.”
Chris Marshall of CDP Marshall, the developer of Capitol Park, said: “We are very grateful for the support given to Capitol Park by Barnsley Council. This has helped us to speculatively develop two high-quality units, which will attract businesses and jobs to the Barnsley region.
“This support is a resounding endorsement of Capitol Park, which is already established as one of the finest mixed-use business parks in South Yorkshire. The site is recognised as a prime business park location with occupiers having a very significant impact on the local economy, contributing to a very prosperous future for Barnsley.”
Rebecca Schofield, partner at the Sheffield office of global property consultancy Knight Frank, which is marketing the new development, said: “These two new units are tremendous news for Capitol Park. There is currently a serious shortage of good quality industrial stock in South Yorkshire, so they will fulfil a pent-up need.”
