Leading Yorkshire commercial property developer Wykeland Group has sealed its largest ever land purchase to enable the expansion of one of its flagship developments.
A total of 230 acres has been acquired at the Melton Park site in East Yorkshire. The multi-million pounds deal includes 100 acres of development land, 95 acres of farmland and 35 acres of woodland, purchased from Birmingham-based property company St Modwen.
Wykeland plans to merge the development land with its neighbouring, highly-successful Meltonwest mixed-use business park, to create a 200-acre commercial cluster and meet strong demand from blue chip brands to join the community of businesses based there.
It will create one of Yorkshire and the Humber’s largest business parks, ultimately offering a total of 2.75m sq ft of space with an end value of more than £200m and an employment potential of over 5,000 jobs.
Meltonwest already has 700,000 sq ft of completed development, with around 1,100 people employed at the site. Leading businesses located at Meltonwest include Heron Foods, which has its national Distribution Centre and Store Support Centre on site; generator manufacturer Allam Marine; shower maker Kohler Mira; and Needlers, the UK’s leading supplier of safety and hygiene products to the food manufacturing industry.
Plans were also recently submitted to East Riding of Yorkshire Council by Wykeland and Lister Group for a £10m, next-generation Mercedes-Benz dealership for Listers at Meltonwest.
Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “This is our largest ever acquisition in terms of land area, so it’s a milestone deal for the business.
“The potential of Melton Park has been known to us for many years, so we are delighted that we have now been able to add it to our growing development pipeline.
“This acquisition creates a unique opportunity to capitalise on the success of Meltonwest and demonstrates our strong confidence in the region’s economy, particularly the manufacturing, warehousing and distribution sectors, for which the Melton site is ideal.
“We aim to develop the site over the next decade and we’re looking at the potential for some speculative development in 2019.”
The development land is zoned for industrial, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution uses and offers investors a prime location on the A63, a major route linking Hull and the Humber ports with West, South and North Yorkshire and the national motorway network, via the M62.
Pictures: David Lee Photography/Wykeland Group
The presence of the woodland, which includes a section of the Wolds Way, offers the potential for recreational uses being incorporated within development of the site.
Wykeland is noted for creating premium business locations that enhance the natural landscape and offer a great working environment. A prime example is Bridgehead, close to the Humber Bridge, where Wykeland has a partnership with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Bridgehead is one of the UK’s greenest and most sustainable business parks and features a 1km-long woodland trail.
Mr Gibbons added: “Our intention is to work with partners to enhance the woodland area and create opportunities for workers across the expanded business park to use it for leisure and exercise, supporting the efforts of businesses based on site to promote employee wellbeing.”
The Melton Park purchase takes the value of Wykeland’s development pipeline across Yorkshire and the Humber to almost £400m as the business continues to deliver some of the region’s most significant schemes. Since 2010 Wykeland has developed 1.75m sq ft of commercial space, now occupied by around 4,250 people, at least 1,500 of them in newly-created jobs.
Wykeland’s current projects range from major urban regeneration schemes to some of the region’s most prestigious business parks.
Wykeland is working in a joint venture with Beal Homes and in partnership with Hull City Council to create Hull’s first urban village in the Fruit Market waterfront quarter. The regeneration of the Fruit Market has seen a near-derelict area transformed into a vibrant commercial, cultural and residential community.
Wykeland is also delivering the £17m redevelopment of the former Northallerton Prison site in North Yorkshire, in partnership with Hambleton District Council. The Treadmills scheme recently gained planning consent and will include retail units anchored by Lidl, managed workspaces, restaurants, a cinema and public events area.
Other flagship Wykeland schemes include the fast-growing Bridgehead business park in Hessle, East Yorkshire; the @TheDock digital campus in Hull’s Fruit Market, which features the Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub; the Flemingate mixed-use regeneration scheme in Beverley, East Yorkshire; and the G@Glasshoughton development off Junction 32 of the M62 in West Yorkshire.
