Phase two of Merchant Park is ready to start welcoming new and expanding businesses to modern, environmentally-friendly units on Aycliffe Business Park. Peter Barron talks to two men at the heart of the development…
It’s a moment Adrian Goodall remembers well…the day Prime Minister David Cameron officially opened the £82m Hitachi Rail factory at Newton Aycliffe, heralding the arrival of one of the North-East’s most important industrial developments in recent times.
Adrian was among the hundreds of guests who gathered for the opening ceremony, having been asked to manage the ongoing development of Merchant Park, the 65-acre site which had become Hitachi’s home.
He’d been drafted in by Geoff Hunton, director of Merchant Anglo, and the man largely credited with playing a pivotal role in bringing the train assembly plant, along with hundreds of high-quality jobs, to Aycliffe.
“Where do we go from here?” was Geoff’s question, and it proved to be one of the biggest challenges in Adrian’s career.
Now, seven years and four prime ministers on from that momentous day in September 2015, the question has been answered in style, with the completion of Station Place – phase two of Merchant Park, a £4.8m scheme to provide 50,503 square feet of new industrial space for start-ups and growing businesses in Aycliffe and the surrounding areas.
“There have been some bumps in the road along the way but it’s really satisfying to see it come to fruition and offer something shiny and new for Aycliffe Business Park,” says Adrian, who grew up in Hartlepool as the son of an ICI engineer and went on to launch his own business, Rokeby Developments, in Newcastle, in 1994.
The ‘bumps in the road’ he refers to were principally Brexit and Covid-19, both of which conspired to stall the original development plans, and lead to a strategic rethink.
“It was hoped at the beginning that Hitachi would be the catalyst for further large industrial development, and we had a number of significant enquiries, a lot of which were European. Then, Brexit happened, and they disappeared overnight, including an Italian tomato processing plant,” recalls Adrian.
“It was also hoped at the time that Hitachi would go on to build a second phase of its own but that was also affected. The result of it all was to have a big head-scratch, we reviewed the best way forward, and we came to the conclusion that we had to focus on the local market.”
The solution was to build 10 high-spec, well-insulated, low energy business units, with super-fast fibre optic broadband, on-site car parking, and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of B. A funding agreement was reached with Waypoint Asset Management and Durham County Council took a 35-year lease to sub-let the units to local occupiers.
The letting of the units is being managed by Jonathan Simpson, co-founder and director of Connect Property North East, a qualified chartered surveyor with extensive experience in commercial property.
Jonathan, a farmer’s son from the Yorkshire Dales, has been dealing with businesses on Aycliffe Business Park for 20 years, and shares Adrian’s excitement for what’s on offer at Station Place.
“There was very little availability in terms of empty units on the whole of Aycliffe Business Park,” says Jonathan.
Jonathan Simpson and Adrian Goodall of Connect Property at their new development Station Place, in Newton Aycliffe.
“This development is the first speculative build for 20 years, so it opens up opportunities for new and expanding businesses in Premier League accommodation.”
And the completion of phase two of Merchant Park is already having a positive knock-on effect because infrastructure, including road access, is opening up further development opportunities. For example, Durham Animal Feeds has taken an adjacent site to build a 30,000 sq ft warehouse.
“Station Park is a win-win for Merchant Park, and Aycliffe as a whole, because it’s acting as springboard to bring forward other plots for sale,” adds Adrian.
The units range from 3,196 sq ft to 8,716, providing new and expanding companies with the opportunity to be part of the Merchant Park success story, on a proven location that is home to a dynamic cluster of international companies that include Husqvarna, Gestamp, Tallent, Lidl and Compound Photonics, in addition to the Hitachi Rail Freight terminal and manufacturing plant.
They have all chosen Merchant Park because of its superb connections: just off junction 59 of the A1(M), within easy reach of Teesside and Newcastle international airports, the Port of Tyne, Teesport, and the Port of Sunderland.
“It’s just a great place to do business and Station Place offers something additional to what’s been here before. It could become a key supplier opportunity for manufacturers on Aycliffe Business Park, as well as being the ideal location for start-ups,” says Jonathan.
“Wind back the clock 15 years or so ago, and it was a very different story. The general estate was rundown, with a vandalism problem, but now there’s a real healthy business community.
“It’s also a pleasant working environment because the whole site is landscaped, with footpaths, ponds, a lake.”
The units also offer: eaves height of seven metres; a level access loading door; floor loading capacity of 30 kN/m2; 44-114 Kva power; fitted office space with toilets, a shared service yard, and the capacity to install electric vehicle charging points.
Now, it’s just a question of finding the right occupies to take advantage of what Station Place has to offer, and detailed discussions are taking place with a number of parties, with announcements about the first tenants due soon.
“The level of interest is really strong, so we expect the units to be snapped up quickly, and that’s great news not just for Aycliffe but the whole of the North-East,” says Adrian.
“Where do we go from here?” was the question Merchant Anglo director Geoff Hunton had asked on the memorable day the Prime Minister formally announced the arrival of the Hitachi Rail plant.
It’s fair to say that he now has an answer that provides an exciting platform for growth.
“We are delighted to announce the handover to Durham County council the newly completed starter units at Station Place,” Geoff told Aycliffe Business.
“This has been a long and winding road to the completion of these high quality units in the setting of Station Place which forms part of the Merchant Park facility.
“Our thanks to our development manager Adrian Goodall and his construction and consultant team, led by Ryder Architecture and the support of Business Durham – a brilliant team effort by all concerned.”
• Anyone interested in the units should contact Jonathan Simpson at Connect Property North East: Call 01642 602001 or email [email protected].
