Goldendale West

Advantage West Midlands and Stoke-on-Trent City Council have appointed Northern Trust as the preferred developer to build a flagship £9 million Enterprise Centre and complex of managed workspace at Chatterley Valley, one of the key gateways into North Staffordshire.

Construction work is expected to start later this year on the 30,000 sq ft Enterprise Centre together with 28,000 sq ft of managed workspace at Goldendale West, in Chatterley Road – and the high-quality, cutting-edge designed three-storey building is expected to be ready for business in 2008.

The Enterprise Centre will comprise a net lettable area of nearly 30,000 sq ft, providing 89 small office suites suitable for small businesses, ranging in size from 173-790 sq ft.

There will also be 27,818 sq ft of managed workspace adjoining the Enterprise Centre, with units ranging from 1,077-2,540 sq ft.

One hectare (2.4 acres) of the 3.43 hectare (8.4 acres) development has been has been retained for grow-on space.

Northern Trust, a property and investment company based in Chorley, Lancashire, was selected by tender process for the development by Advantage West Midlands, the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Goldendale West is the first phase of the £30 million Chatterley Valley development scheme led by Advantage West Midlands which will see around 70 hectares of former colliery land transformed into a major employment site, creating or safeguarding around 4,000 jobs over the next decade.

Stuart Kirkwood, Director of Development at Advantage West Midlands, said: “This is a major milestone for North Staffordshire. After a complex project of land assembly and remediation over a number of years, work will start later this year on the first phase of the scheme.

“Northern Trust bring with them a wealth of experience in high-quality managed workspace and developing buildings which meet the latest standards of sustainability and BREEAM requirements.

“Goldendale West will set a green benchmark for the rest of the Chatterley Valley scheme to follow in terms of tone and quality of design, materials and sustainability.”

Mike Grindrod, Development Director at Northern Trust, said: “We are delighted to have been selected for this prestigious gateway development in North Staffordshire and we are looking forward to working with Advantage West Midlands and Stoke-on-Trent City Council to bring this exciting project to fruition.

“Northern Trust has a long established track record of working in partnership with the public sector in achieving environmentally sustainable developments to meet the needs of the local economy.

“Businesses and entrepreneurs can look forward to seeing the development of high quality office suites suitable for SMEs and start-ups, superb fitted office accommodation fully networked for IT, manned receptions and on-site meeting rooms.”

Mark Meredith, Elected Mayor for Stoke-on-Trent, said: “The start of work on the Goldendale West site is great news for the area’s economy and a further indicator that the city is on the up with new job creation projects from Goldendale in the north to Trentham Lakes in the south.

“Exciting plans are also emerging for the city centre with the unveiling of a £100 million plan to transform the area earlier this month.”

The appointment of Northern Trust is the second major boost for enterprise in North Staffordshire this week.

The area was named the West Midlands Enterprise Capital for 2007 in a national competition run by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Small Business Service.

Northern Trust was established in 1962 and is now one of the UK’s largest and most successful privately owned property investment, development and land regeneration companies. Northern Trust’s existing property portfolio is extensive, with in excess of 8 million sq ft of industrial/trade and office parks and more than 1.5 million sq ft has been developed or is under construction in over 30 locations throughout the Midlands and North of England. The company is continuing to expand through new investment, development, and land regeneration opportunities.