Potter Space, which owns and operates five business parks across the UK, is on course to achieve its five-year vision of investing £18m to double the size of its Droitwich site, as construction begins on the first phase of the development.
The company had been granted planning permission earlier in the year to speculatively build an additional 105,000 sq. ft. of industrial units at Droitwich, to add to the existing 286,000 sq. ft. occupying the 38 acres.
With £10m investment committed to this initial phase, construction of the first two units, measuring 28,360 sq. ft. and 21,895 sq. ft., has begun in earnest with completion expected by Spring 2023.
Although not a prerequisite of the original planning consent, all the new units will be targeting BREEAM ‘Very Good’ accreditation in order to provide top quality sustainable buildings for its customers and to further enhance the desirability of the site.
Potter Space is also placing high importance on enhancing the amenity space on the park to help improve the wellbeing of its customers. This will include extending landscaped areas and creating both dedicated picnic areas and nature walks close to the site.
Jason Rockett, managing director at Potter Space, said: “Our commitment to investing £18m to double the size of Droitwich over the next five years represents a major milestone for Potter Space in the Midlands.
“Although we have had nearly 300,000 sq. ft. of buildings on site, we were close to 100% occupancy and recognised the need to meet demand and the growing number of enquiries we were receiving for high quality warehouse units in the region. We are therefore looking forward to the opportunity to develop the site further and bring new investment and jobs to the area.”
Fisher German and Harris Lamb are joint acting agents for this initial phase.
Rob Champion, partner at property agents, Fisher German, said: “As Jason and the team at Potter Space have witnessed, we have seen sustained occupational demand for industrial and warehouse facilities of this calibre in the Midlands and we anticipate interest to be extremely high.”
Charles D’Auncey, director for property consultancy Harris Lamb, added: “Expanding the Droitwich site on this scale puts Potter Space in an enviable position at a time when warehouse space is in such short supply nationally, regionally and locally and there is limited competition in the area.”
