September 5, 2019
Keyland Developments Ltd, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister company to Yorkshire Water, has sold the 57 acre North Bierley Water Treatment Works site in West Yorkshire to Opus North for an undisclosed sum. Opus North will start on site in Q1 2020 developing the first unit of a total circa 370,000 sq ft new industrial scheme designed to address regional supply shortages.
Keyland secured planning consent last year from Kirklees Council to regenerate the extensive site, which has been redundant for almost 20 years, into a major commercial development of circa 400,000 sq ft of industrial and employment space which could deliver some 800 new jobs.
The site is located in a strategic position at the major intersection of the M62 Transpennine motorway and M606 Bradford link and was launched to market at the end of last year by Dove Haigh Phillips.
The purchase by Opus North reflects the Yorkshire-based developer’s focus on the industrial and logistics sector following the delivery of several major retail schemes across the North of England and will add to its current £150m development programme. The team will be appointing a contractor at North Bierley in the forthcoming months with work set to commence on site in Q1 2020 delivering the first unit of a total circa 370,000 sq ft industrial development, which will comprise freehold and leasehold units from 15,000 sq ft up to 125,000 sq ft. Delivery of the new scheme, which will be branded as Interchange 26, is timelined for Q1 2021.
Peter Garrett, Managing Director of Keyland Developments Ltd, said;
“The sale of the North Bierley site will make significant headway in providing new industrial accommodation and employment opportunities in a region that is currently experiencing severe shortages. The delivery of a major employment scheme, as facilitated by the planning consent, will also help to support businesses in the local area and bring about new jobs. Unlocking strategic, dormant land such as this across Yorkshire is critical to the region’s economic success and we are excited to see Opus North realise the wider vision for this important site.”
Andrew Duncan, Managing Director of Opus North, said;
“The acquisition of this key site forms part of our wider aspirations within the logistics sector where we see strong opportunities to deliver schemes of excellence to address the chronic shortages of high quality industrial and logistics space. This is an immediately deliverable opportunity for us and we are already in discussions with potential occupiers for the first unit at Interchange 26, which will be underway towards the start of next year.”
Dove Haigh Phillips marketed the site for Keyland Developments with Shulmans providing legal advice on the sale, and Knight Frank provided assistance on the acquisition for Opus North.
Simon Dove, Partner at Dove Haigh Phillips, said;
“Viable and immediate commercial opportunities of this scale are rare and Keyland’s work in securing planning consent and undertaking the commercial masterplanning resulted in keen competition for the site. The surrounding business and industrial parks are operating at full capacity and therefore the delivery of up to 400,000 sq ft of employment space will be a welcome addition to the region’s supply.”
Keyland Developments Ltd has been operating across Yorkshire for over 20 years, regenerating Yorkshire Water’s redundant sites. In addition to its work transforming former Yorkshire Water land, the team also works alongside independent landowners, corporates or regulated bodies to overcome obstacles to development on strategic sites in order to facilitate regeneration by securing planning consent for future use.
Originally posted in Property Week in September 2019.