Skyline of our town...
Kingsway Business Park, near Milnrow - home to JD Sports, Asda and E. ON.
There are currently three schemes underway due to complete in midto-late 2019.
These include a 75,000sqft distribution centre and trade counter for a kitchen and bedroom manufacturer Trade Mouldings, and a facility of the same size for international logistics company Dachser.
And on top of this is the 60,000 square foot ‘Logic at Kingsway’ scheme of 11 small light industrial units, which it plans to let out to businesses from early next year.
John Searle says it is a ‘reasonably unique’ approach.
Of the units, which range from 3,000 to 15,000 square foot, he said: “Not only will it provide us with a financial return on top of the borrowing costs, but it will also bring in business rates and bring business to the borough - that creates jobs and further investment.”
He added: “The council really needs to be shouting more about Kingsway. It’s doing really well and starting to fill up. In three to five years’ time we could be in a position where it is full,” he said.
And regeneration chief Coun Blundell says the units are another example of the council ‘going all out’ to make sure the borough gets at least its fair share of the economic pie.
He adds that while some businesses want to buy a plot of land and create a unit to their specifications, others want a ready-built facility which is what the council is now providing.
He said: “The council is building different types of units to attract those types of businesses. It’s about improving the mix at Kingsway.
“They are going up and this type of development in the past has filled up quite quickly.”
●●South Heywood masterplan
Planning chiefs gave the go-ahead for hugely ambitious proposals to transform the face of Heywood earlier this year.
The scheme includes the creation of a 1.5m square foot industrial estate, a new school and 1,000 homes over the course of the following 18 years - although the details of these parts of the plan are yet to be nailed down.
But a new 2.2km link road from Junction 19 of the M62 to the industrial parks of Pilsworth Road has full planning permission, with construction due to get underway in the autumn.
The bypass will make it far easier for HGV drivers travelling to and from Leeds and other areas to the east of the borough, as well as improving the congestion that has long blighted Heywood’s roads.
However, the plan is by no means popular with everyone, attracting more than 260 letters of objection, from those who opposed the loss of green belt the scheme will involve.
But planning chiefs found that the benefits the project will bring outweigh the harm to the environment.
Next year will see the revised Greater Manchester Spatial Framework finally go out for consultation, and the development will ultimately form part of the ’Northern Gateway’ into the city region. John Searle said: “It’s not just about the south Heywood scheme itself, but about how we support and improve the Hareshill Road area.”