Next step towards 5,000 jobs
HI-TECH FACILITY AT FORMER CELANESE FACTORY SITE IS SET TO CREATE 5,000 JOBS
THOUSANDS of jobs are set to be created as a new state-of-the-art food manufacturing and distribution centre on Derby’s former Celanese site can now proceed.
SmartParc has announced SEGRO as its development partner to create the hi-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus on the 112-acre site, near Spondon.
SEGRO will provide a multi-million-pound investment to regenerate the brownfield site and SmartParc will provide the on-site managed services, supporting the food community to increase production efficiency and drive reduced operational costs through collaborative working.
SmartParc will create 5,000 direct jobs and enable a new collaborative, flexible work model to accommodate people’s evolving lifestyles with the ambition of reconnecting the local community to food production.
Jackie Wild, SmartParc chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to announce SEGRO as our development partner as we work towards our goal of building the first world-leading, sustainable, hi-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus at SmartParc SEGRO Spondon.
“Our partnership with SEGRO and the continued support of D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and Derby City Council will enable us to bring jobs to the region and address the increasingly critical challenges facing food manufacturing supply chains.
“We want to thank everyone involved in realising this vision in record time.
“From the first walk around site in May 2020 to starting on site in September 2021 – it shows what can be achieved when everyone pushes in the same direction with a shared agenda.
“The creation of this dedicated asset class is pivotal in achieving a more sustainable future for food production and giving a framework for the food industry to build upon.
“We want to embrace Derby’s engineering heritage to ensure that SmartParc is the home of the next food revolution.
“We already have a significant level of interest from manufacturers and retailers both from the UK and overseas and we are starting work immediately so we can welcome our first ‘collaborators’ to SmartParc early next year.”
The announcement of the partnership follows Derby City Council granting planning permission in June and the agreement of grant funding contributions from D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and Derby City Council.
D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership has allocated £12 million towards the project from the Government’s Getting Building Fund.
The hub at Spondon represents a pioneering technical breakthrough and will provide food manufacturing facilities ranging from start-up incubation units through to largescale manufacturing facilities ranging from 50,000 - 400,000 sq ft.
The site will also be home to a Food Manufacturing Technology Centre of Excellence, offering education and career opportunities to secure both the local and global food supply chains.
The developers of SmartParc say it will provide a new sustainable blueprint for the food industry. It will reengineer current food manufacturing and distribution processes.
It will look towards new technologies such as vertical farming to disconnect weather from their ability to produce sustainable food.
Andrew Pilsworth, managing director, National Logistics at SEGRO, said: “SmartParc’s bold new concept for food manufacturing and distribution has the potential to be a true game-changer.
“Over the last 18 months we’ve seen the importance of having robust supply chains closer to home and being able to quickly and efficiently distribute goods.
“SmartParc enables both of these within the vital food and drink sector and does so while keeping sustainability at its heart. We look forward to working together to make the concept a success.”
SmartParc SEGRO Spondon will be home to the first low-carbon food manufacturing community.
A central distribution hub to consolidate goods in deliveries will streamline the distribution chain, providing a reduction in cost for occupiers whilst improving sustainability by eliminating food miles.
From design and material selection to support for eventual occupiers, SmartParc and SEGRO will help to ensure excellent environmental performance and bold efficiency gains at the site.
Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council, said: “We are delighted with the progress so far in the SmartParc scheme.
“The project is hugely welcome in Derby, fitting perfectly into our aims to boost our economy and job market and to further diversify the city.
“The thousands of new jobs that will be created is a fantastic prospect and we look forward to seeing the partnership between SmartParc and SEGRO develop to achieve this.”
Chris Radlett, vice president of manufacturing for Celanese, said: “Celanese is pleased to have worked closely with local and regional authorities and the developers, to provide our site to help create jobs and enable more sustainable food production.
“This is a fitting next step for the site and we look forward to welcoming our new neighbours.”
Elizabeth Fagan CBE, D2N2 LEP chair, said: “Food and drink manufacturing is a key investment priority for our region.
“The LEP’s £12 million investment will support the creation of a worldleading sustainable food-manufacturing facility that will deliver pioneering innovation, create thousands of jobs and transform the local economy.”
The project is hugely welcome in Derby, fitting perfectly into our aims to boost our economy and job market. Chris Poulter