Keyland submits business park plan to council

PLANS for a new business park which could create 1,000 new jobs have been submitted as part of a vision to build a new community.
Wakefield East arial imageWakefield East arial image
Wakefield East arial image

The proposals for City Fields Waterside Park Business Hub in Wakefield include up to 500,000 sq ft of space for office and industrial buildings.

Keyland Developments, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister-company to Yorkshire Water, submitted the planning application to Wakefield Council for the 47 acre site, which it said could create around 1,000 new jobs.

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Keyland’s site, which was part of the redundant Yorkshire Water Calder Vale treatment works, forms the main employment element of the wider City Fields development which aims to build a new community to the east of Wakefield.

Alongside the business park, City Fields will include approximately 2,500 houses, a primary school, health facilities, and neighbourhood centres on 375 acres of land.

Keyland’s outline planning application aims to create a diverse employment scheme to act as a catalyst for business development for a range of employers.

The proposals incorporate business and industrial buildings in a range of sizes together with potential pub/restaurant/drive-thru ancillary leisure uses and trade counter development plots.

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The new £33m Wakefield Eastern Relief Road (WERR), which is set to complete in early 2017, forms the backbone of the proposed scheme.

Wakefield East Consortium has promoted a masterplan framework for development sites along the WERR and City Fields Waterside Park Business Hub has been identified as a potential employment area.

Ryan Unsworth, development manager at Keyland Developments, said; “With direct access to the WERR, this site is one of the most strategically important in the region and has the potential to deliver significant employment opportunities in-line with the aspirations of the Wakefield East Consortium.

“With work underway on the road, the whole City Fields area is gathering momentum and the creation of this major employment element will ensure its long-term sustainability.”

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Keyland has instructed the Leeds offices of Bilfinger GVA and Knight Frank as joint marketing agents to work as part of its wider professional team.

If approved, the outline planning application could kick-start preparatory work on site.

Nick Prescott, associate at Knight Frank, said: “The application addresses the widespread regional shortage of quality industrial and business accommodation through the formation of a well-designed scheme which is supported by the broader City Fields development.”

Iain McPhail, associate at Bilfinger GVA, added: “The regeneration of this area of Wakefield will bring about an exciting range of economic and social benefits and the mix of units proposed within the application will ensure widespread opportunities to accommodate a range of businesses.”

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Keyland has been operating across Yorkshire for more than 20 years, regenerating Yorkshire Water’s redundant sites.

The site of the proposed City Fields Waterside Park Business Hub is on land bought by Keyland for an undisclosed sum in 2013.

It has not been operational for over a decade.