Staffordshire business park gets green light at last
Construction of a business park that will create almost 2,000 jobs in Staffordshire is to get under way after a hold-up of almost a year.
The sprawling 19-acre site in Mill Green, Cannock, will be transformed into a business centre and also include a hotel, restaurant and nursery. It is anticipated that the project will create 650 construction jobs in the process and 1,200 full-time jobs from firms attracted to the site.
The Mill Green scheme has been made possible by a £3.5million loan from the Local Enterprise Partnerships. Half has come from the Stoke and Staffordshire LEP and the rest from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP.
However the deal was complicated by dual ownership of the land, just off the A5 at Churchbridge, with Cannock Chase District Council having two-thirds of the site and the rest belonging to regeneration firm Morston Assetts.
Initially, the private company tried to work alongside the council but the partnership did not work on a practical level. Now, the council has bought the Morston land after months of negotiation.
Local authority leader George Adamson today welcomed the deal which he said would lead to the release of the LEP money.
He said:?"It is excellent news that we can, hopefully, now forge ahead with this scheme that will bring so many high-quality, skilled jobs to the area."
The cash will be used to pay for new road links and site works that will create construction jobs, before a developer is brought on board to finish the scheme. The business park is expected to generate £34m of private investment.
Tenders for the project will be invited and work will start within months.
