The creation of 400 new jobs has moved a step closer after property developer, Opus Land has revealed that the final phase of construction of CONNEQT, located at Kingswood Lakeside, Cannock, is almost complete.
The site was acquired from Staffordshire County Council, who had previously been the site's freeholders - the Council has been influential in the creation of Kingswood Lakeside Business Park.
The energy-efficient CONNEQT development was funded through a combination of grant and equity financing via the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBS LEP), the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Frontier Development Capital, and Bridges Fund Management. The large plot, located opposite the M6 Toll and the A5, was bought late last year by the Canal & River Trust.
Opus Land have developed the two industrial units - both with an EPC Grade A rating - at the Kingswood Lakeside site, totaling 283,353 sq. ft of industrial space (CONNEQT Alpha 153,803 sq. ft; CONNEQT Beta 129,550 sq. ft).
CONNEQT Alpha features 14 loading docks, 72 trailer parking spaces, up to 290 car parking spaces, and 15,431 sq. ft of office space, while CONNEQT Beta has 12 loading docks, 16 trailer spaces, up to 246 car parking spaces, with 12,130 sq. ft of office space.
Victoria Turnbull, Co-managing Director of Opus Land, said:
“We are delighted to have finished our fifth development at Kingswood Lakeside in Cannock, and we are proud of the transformation that Opus Land have made to regenerating this key site in Cannock district.”
Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street (who chairs the WMCA) stated:
“This is another great example of how the WMCA is using its funding to help a local developer with a strong track record breathe new life into former industrial land."
“Opus has transformed a dormant site on challenging ground and brought it back into economic use. CONNEQT will create jobs and encourage further investment in this region, which is at the heart of what the WMCA was set up to do.”
Nick Oakley, Head of Property at Frontier Development Capital, commented:
“The WMCA’s Collective Investment Fund aims to accelerate site regeneration and support economic growth, so the CONNEQT development presented an excellent investment opportunity for the fund. It’s fantastic to see such a high quality development in the region reach practical completion”.
(Kingswood Lakeside is located just off the M6 Toll and A5)
Guy Bowden, Partner at Bridges Fund Management, added:
“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 50 years. The units have been constructed using sustainable construction technology to achieve an EPC ‘A Rating’. Only 1.5% of commercial buildings in the UK currently achieve this level. We expect that approximately 400 jobs will be created once both buildings are fully occupied.”
Edited by Josh Heath