Multi-million pound ‘Nano Park’ planned at pub site
PLANS to build a multi-million pound business on the site of The Wappy Spring at Lindley Moor are well advanced, The Examiner can reveal.
Landlords Trevor Simpkins and Austin Wylie, who bought the freehold to the pub in 2012, have experienced tough trading conditions over the last year and are looking to sell the pub and surrounding land for £2m-2.3m.
It would be demolished if the plans get the green light from Kirklees planners. But the developers will only buy the pub subject to the necessary planning permission being granted. They have been in pre-application talks with Kirklees Council but have yet to submit a formal planning application.
The Lindley Moor area has become a major employment hub in recent years with Jaguar/Land Rover establishing a major complex there along with other businesses.
Frank Marshall Estates, one of West Yorkshire’s leading property development companies, is looking to roll out its pioneering and highly-successful Nano Park concept into Kirklees.
The model creates small but perfectly formed employment space, providing an ideal base for small and fledgling companies as well as satellite operations for larger firms.
Each Nano Park creates at least 70 jobs but Kirklees councillor Cahal Burke, (Lib Dem, Lindley), said the developers “will have a fight on their hands” as developing the site would involve encroachment onto green belt.
A flourishing 12,000 sq ft Nano Park has already been developed by Frank Marshall Estates in Bradford, with other similar parks in the pipeline in Armley, Skipton and Wakefield.
Jimmy Marshall, director of Frank Marshall Estates, said: “The astounding success of our ground-breaking Nano Park in Bradford, which is completely full, has encouraged us to repeat the model elsewhere in Yorkshire.
“We are now looking specifically at Kirklees, which is an excellent Yorkshire location, given its skilled labour force and its outstanding transport links, notably the proximity of the M62.”
Mr Marshall, who lives in Huddersfield, added: “The Nano Park model is based on flexible, affordable and attractive business space in locations where companies want to be. We believe we are offering the new option for a more internet-based world, where a quality office is part of the space needed.
“Finally, we believe both the new start-ups post-Covid and the existing SMEs need a quality location to work from, attractive space they are happy to bring customers to, great locations where there is access to the whole region and a nice external environment with plenty of parking, nice views and some greenery to look at. We know that there is a real need for units of this size in Kirklees.”
Clr Burke said: “The proposal from the developer is not one I or colleagues Clr Richard Eastwood and Clr Anthony Smith could support, we will not support the destruction of our greenbelt, after seeing all our greenfield sites developed, this is a step too far.
“There is absolutely no justification or exceptional circumstances for the green belt land in this area to be built on.”
Kirklees is an excellent location given its skilled
labour force and outstanding transport
links