National Grid nears green light for Manchester business park
National Grid is close to getting the go-ahead for a 1m sq ft business park in Greater Manchester on the site of an old gas production and storage facility, according to press reports. Development looks likely to take place in stages over several years, depending on occupier demand.
The utility group’s property holdings unit has secured a resolution from Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council to grant outline planning consent for the business park at the Common Lane site in Partington, which is expected to create around 1,600 jobs.
In addition to the 67-acre business park, which is to create just over 1m sq ft of office space split between 27 units, the plans include a further 13 acres that will be used to create an “off-site ecological habitat” off Sinderland Road.
Richard Frudd, from Indigo Planning, which advised National Grid Property Holdings, said: “National Grid has a long-term ambition to regenerate its old gas production and storage site and maximise its contribution to the creation of local employment opportunities.”
“The timing of the plans will be driven by occupier demand, with the anticipation that the site will be developed in phases over a number of years, but this go-ahead is an important first step in improving the area for the long term.”
