07.02.07
Duke of York opens £4.75m St Austell business park

HRH The Duke of York has officially opened the new Brunel Business Park in St Austell.

The Duke, who is the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, visited the £4.75 million eco-friendly development during a one-day tour of Cornwall.

Brunel Business Park sets new standards for sustainable construction in Cornwall and is aimed at businesses in the ICT (information communication technology) and creative industries sectors, creating 100 high quality job opportunities in the town.

It was jointly invested in by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) and the Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The Duke was hosted by RDA Chairman Juliet Williams and joined a round-table discussion about the investment being made by the RDA and its partners to regenerate St Austell and transform the Cornish economy.

Ms Williams said: "The Duke took a real interest in the design and construction of the business park, and was interested to hear about the other investments we are making in St Austell including the £60 million town centre regeneration and the £3.7 million Civic Pride project to improve the appearance of key areas of the town.

"Brunel Business Park will bring much-needed employment space to St Austell and we are confident of attracting occupiers that will add real value."

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership office, said: "Brunel Business Park is one of more than £76 million worth of projects that have received investment from Objective One to create quality workspace across the region. This has produced over 270 workspace units to date. The design reflects sensitivity to the local environment and innovative use of environmentally smart features. Workspace of this quality is key to attracting higher value businesses to this area."

Cllr Annette Egerton, Cabinet Member for Regeneration on Restormel Borough Council said: "Restormel is delighted that the Duke has seen at first hand some of the regeneration work taking place in and around St Austell. The Brunel Business Park is just one of a number of projects coming forward that will offer important jobs for the people in the area."

During his visit the Duke was given a tour of the business park and heard presentations about its eco-friendly features and about other regeneration work underway in the area and across Cornwall.

Brunel Business Park is part of an exemplar mixed-use sustainable development on a former railway goods yard off Carlyon Road in St Austell.

It has a number of eco-friendly features including an earth energy heating system, rainwater harvesting and natural ventilation. It has already been awarded an 'excellent' rating for its environmental design and management in the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), having scored nine out of a possible 10.

The award covers a range of environmental aspects from land use, materials and water consumption, through to ventilation, lighting and insulation and is unprecedented for an office scheme in Cornwall.

For further information contact Jason Clark of Deborah Clark and Associates Ltd on 01872 276276 or email jason@dca-pr.co.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Brunel Business Park through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Editor's notes:

Brunel Business Park was completed in December 2006 and offers 2,012 sqm of high quality B1 office space. There are seven units in four separate two storey blocks ranging in size from 256 sqm to 576 sqm.

Investment of £3.15 million came from the South West RDA and £1.6 million from the Objective One European Regional Development Fund.

Brunel Business Park is the first office development in Cornwall to be used as a testbed for green energy technology.

Six of the seven units are heated by an earth energy system while the remaining unit has a conventional gas condensing boiler.

The performance of both systems is being measured to investigate how they perform and the data will be used to promote the use of renewable energy in other projects and buildings funded by the RDA. The aim is to demonstrate to developers and occupiers that investment in such technology pays dividends over the lifetime of a building and should be considered at design stage.

Externally, the units have been designed by Charlestown-based architects Alan Leather Associates to reflect the previous use of the site as a railway goods yard. The green copper-effect roofs and brickwork echo the railway buildings of the past while integrating with the traditional architectural style of the neighbouring urban village, which was also designed by Alan leather Associates with the support of the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment.

The site includes 50 car parking spaces and is located approximately 10 minutes walk from the town centre and the nearest bus and train station. All occupiers will be encouraged to adopt green travel plans.

St Austell Town Centre Regeneration is a £60 million scheme that will include 14,400 sq m of new retail accommodation on three levels, 1,860 sq m of A3 use (for restaurants, cafes and bars), a new four-screen cinema, a 550-space multi-storey car park and 70 residential units. Unit sizes range from 145 sq m to 3,700 sq m. It is expected to bring between 500 and 700 jobs to the town, employ hundreds during its construction and generate millions of pounds for the local economy during the two-year build. The project is a partnership between the South West RDA, which will invest a total of £30 million, Restormel Borough Council and David McLean Developments Ltd. It will be built by Sir Robert McAlpine. Around 50% of the scheme is already pre-let or under negotiation. Work is scheduled to start in March.

Civic Pride – this £3.7 million project is being invested in by the South West RDA, Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall County Council and Restormel Borough Council. Phase one will see improvements to Trevarthian Road, between the railway and the Holy Trinity Church, including all roads around the church, and also Biddicks Court. Work will start in March and is due to take a year. A second phase improving High Cross Street, costing £650,000, and funded by the RDA, is due to start in 2008.

The South West of England Regional Development Agency was established by government in 1999 to promote the long-term economic success of the region. It does this by working with others to give people the skills they need, encouraging enterprise, improving infrastructure, helping communities with regeneration and promoting the strengths of the region.

For more details contact:

Jason Clark
Deborah Clark & Associates
01872 276276
07980 834368
Email: jason@dca-pr.co.uk

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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