Strong lettings near the waterfront

Take up of commercial property still strong at Widnes Waterfront. Just one unit remains available at the strategically-located Widnes Trade Park after seven of its eight units were occupied by businesses.

The latest letting was to The Jelly Bean Play Centre, which now occupies the 14,000 sq ft Unit 4. It joins existing tenants including: B&Q which took 59,000 sq ft; Johnstone’s Decorating Centre, PTS Plumbing Trade Supplies and Dulux decorators’ centre which each occupy premises spanning 3,500 sq ft; Screwfix which occupied 7, 587 sq ft; and Edmundson Electrical which took 10,000 sq ft.

The spate of lettings leaves the 6,000 sq ft Unit 2A as the sole remaining unit at Widnes Trade Park.

Ian Hunter, director, Property Alliance Group, commented: “The Trade Park has continued to triumph for us because of its fantastic location at the entrance to Halton Borough Council’s retail and leisure scheme. The benefits of this regeneration project are demonstrated by the high calibre of new tenants wanting to join the thriving community and we are delighted to have been involved in such a successful project.”

Situated within the Widnes Waterfront Regeneration Area on Dennis Road, the park comprises eight high-quality detached and terraced units, suitable for trade counter and warehouse use.

The Widnes Waterfront is one of only 14 Economic Development Zones (EDZ) in the North West and the retention of existing industrial users and introduction of new businesses is vitally important to the success of the Waterfront.
Widnes Waterfront is set to become an entirely new business and leisure environment and will see considerable investment in public open spaces and landscaped parkland.

Nearby Heron Business Park, a joint venture between St Modwen and Halton Council, has also recently announced six lettings at the second phase of the development.

The lettings totalled 12,000 sq ft and were completed with AB (Electrical) Engineering, Widnes Electrical Supplies, Locpac, AS Autocare, JB Rewinds and Stairlift Mobility.

The second phase of Heron Business Park comprises a total of 19 units set within five separate terraces. The units are available in a range of sizes from 1,618 sq ft (150 sqm) up to 23,437 sq ft (2,177 sqm).

The units are designed to a high standard and have a “very good” BREEAM rating.

The units benefit from steel portal framed buildings with clear height of four to six metres, dedicated loading and parking areas for each unit, generous landscaping to Tan House Lane elevation, high quality finishes and design throughout.

Richard Bakes, development manager at St Modwen, said: “These latest lettings are further evidence that Heron Business Park is the natural choice for businesses seeking high-quality industrial premises in the Borough.”

Located at the heart of Widnes Waterfront Economic Development Zone, Heron Business Park is situated approximately three miles from both Junction 7 of the M62 and Junction 12 of the M56.

The project is funded by St Modwen and the North West Development Agency (NWDA) and supported by Halton Borough Council. The success of the Widnes and Heron parks is being emulated by Turnstone Business Park where occupiers now include Connaught plc, Edmundson Electrical, Aerelink Limited, Halton Borough Council, LTS Envirosafe and Headstart Academy.

There are now just four self-contained office buildings available at Turnstone. Dixon Webb and GVA Grimley are joint agents acting for Widnes Regeneration.

Widnes has a large employment catchment area with 8.5m people living within 90 minutes of the centre. With a working population of 1.5m, the town has a readily available pool of skilled and unskilled labour.