It’ll be the Rolls-Royce of business parks
Rebirth for factory site
The former site of the famous Rolls-Royce engine factory is set to become a major hub once again as a £14million redevelopment project begins construction.
The historical factory site at Hillington Park once employed thousands of people across Renfrewshire.
It operated from 1938 until 2005 before Rolls-Royce moved its base to Inchinnan and the site has been vacant since.
The plant was a key part of the Second World War effort and manufactured engines for Spitfire and Hurricane planes.
After the war, the site repaired and overhauled Merlin and Griffon engines as well as producing spare parts before switching to the production of the emerging gas turbine engines.
By the start of the new millennium, the facility was producing compressor blades, vanes, seals and shrouds for virtually every engine produced by Rolls-Royce.
At its peak, the factory at Hillington Park employed 25,000 people turning out 400 engines weekly.
It is now set to be transformed into units for businesses as part of the multi-million pound investment by Frasers Property UK and will span over six acres of land in the industrial estate.
It is the biggest speculative new build scheme on Scotland’s largest industrial estate in over 25 years and is part of Frasers Property UK’s continued investment following its purchase of the majority of the estate in 2017.
The new Hillington West 100 and 200 development will see 13 new units with large secure yards ranging from 5,093 sq ft to 25,467 sq ft completed and available to the market by the first quarter of 2022.
Scottish construction company Muir Construction has been awarded the project.
Each unit will benefit from low-energy and water-efficient fittings, air source heat pumps for heating and cooling, and electric vehicle chargers.
The development will see up to 70 construction workers across all trades on site at any one time and over 200 jobs will be expected to be added to the Hillington Park workforce when the new development is fully occupied.
Grant Edmondson, commercial director at Hillington Park, said: “The Hillington West 100 and 200 development is a substantial commitment to Hillington Park and the Glasgow industrial market by Frasers Property.
“It will deliver modern industrial accommodation built to high- quality sustainable specifications that occupiers are seeking.
“The site of the new development has a rich industrial heritage going back as far as 1939 when Rolls-Royce began manufacturing the Merlin aircraft engines for the likes of the Spitfire.
“Vacant for over 15 years, we are delighted now to be breathing new life into the estate and investing in a new industrial zone aimed at the modern manufacturing, last mile logistics, engineering and construction services sectors.
“We know the market lacks a supply of high quality, modern premises with large, secure yards.
“With Hillington Park’s central location in the heart of Scotland’s busiest commercial region, we anticipate strong demand.
“This is the first phase with scope to offer a further 360,000 sq ft of new industrial development in the new Hillington West zone over the next few years.”
Current occupiers at Hillington Park operate in a wide range of sectors including transport and last mile logistics, automotive, construction services, manufacturing, engineering, retail, technology and the public
sector.