Business park takes off

DEVELOPED BY COUNCIL FULL AND PLANS ARE NOW TO EXPAND

A BUSINESS park developed by Leicestershire County Council has now let every single industrial unit, despite the pressures of the coronavirus pandemic.

Airfield Business Park in Market Harborough has been such a success that the authority now hopes to extend it, with a planning application for another 27 units likely to be submitted soon.

The council invested in the business park as part of its Corporate Asset Investment Fund, which seeks to boost the local economy and generate income for frontline services.

Councillor Lee Breckon, cabinet member for resources, said: “We are delighted with the success of the Airfield Business Park, which has been so well received by local firms.

“It is clear demand is there for further similar units and we are confident that extending the site would bring benefits to both local businesses and the wider community.

“The income stream this sort of venture provides helps to increase our financial resilience at a time when additional central government funding is not forthcoming, despite increasing demand for frontline services and local infrastructure.”

Among those businesses which have moved into new premises at

Airfield Business Park is Bramble Foods, which already has two other premises in the Market Harborough area.

The company supplies small independent shops with cakes, biscuits and confectionery, as well as its own jams and chutneys, and business has boomed throughout the pandemic.

Bramble Foods managing director

Tony Foster said: “After moving into our first property in 2008, we are delighted to be taking on our third site in Market Harborough.

“Keeping it local is very important to us. As a Harborough family business we are proud to employ over 120 people from the local area.

“In addition to our bakery on Lathkill Street and our Riverside End site, where we make jams and pickles, the new building at the Airfield will give us much needed space for extra warehousing and packing.

Troubadour Publishing, which employs 25 people, is also moving to the latest phase of the park, to a bespoke unit.

The company, which offers both self publishing and mainstream publishing, was formed in 1996 in Market Harborough and as the business has grown, has moved base several times.

Managing director Jeremy Thompson said: “It is great to be moving into a building which has been custom-made for us.

“We are a local company, employing local people.”

Money generated by commercial property investments helps the council to fund vital frontline services, from social care for adults and children and fixing potholes, helping relieve some of the demand pressures facing critical services. The first company to move into one of the new units at Airfield Business Park, in 2019, was Fasten-it, which manufactures fixings and fastenings for the door and window industries.

Managing director Phil Hill said: “Fasten-It has grown significantly over the last 20 months since relocating to this fresh new estate, it has been a great move for us. “Airfield Business Park has proved popular for road haulage, both into and from our unit with ease and now the other units are occupied there is a useful interaction of knowledge and experience to share.

“It’s also pleasing to know we are contributing to a greener economy by using the solar electricity generated on site.”

ALL UNITS AT INDUSTRIAL AREA

We are delighted with the success of the Airfield Business Park, which has been so well received Coun Breckon