A scheme backed by one of the world’s biggest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) has secured a benchmark rent for Worcester, our Worcester Development Plans Conference has heard.

Gerard Ludlow, joint managing director of Stoford Developments, told the delegates at the Worcester Development Plans Conference that a 45,000sq ft unit speculatively developed by the company at its Worcester 6 scheme had been let prior to completion for £5.95 per sq ft. The letting of the unit to ‘a major engineering and technology business’ represents a new benchmark for the city’s commercial property market.

The overall development, located at J6 of the M42, covers a total of 150 acres with outline planning consent for 1.5m sq ft of B1, B2 and B8 uses. One update on the site includes a 15-year pre-let contract that has been struck with medical supplies business Kimal – with work due to start on site in February. Tenders are currently out for the contract to build a 72,5000sq ft unit, which has been pre-let to Spire Healthcare on a 25-year lease at more than £6 per sq ft.

Outside of Worcester, Ludlow highlighted Stoford’s 1m sq ft Redditch Gateway, which is located at J3 of the M42. Planning consent has been secured from two of the three local planning authorities which straddle the site – and they’ll be going back to hopefully secure the support of Stratford-upon-Avon council in mid-February after the authority previously deferred its decision on the scheme.

Ludlow said that, subject to securing consent, Stoford aimed to start work on Redditch Gateway in the middle of this year on £6m worth of infrastructure to pump-prime the site with the first buildings due to be delivered from early 2019 onwards. The development aims to achieve £100m worth of investment value with rents expected to fetch between £6.25 to £6.75 per sq ft.

Nigel Wakefield, director at Node Urban Design, outlined the consultancy’s masterplan for Worcester. He said one of the firm’s goals is to boost the city’s tourism offer to match that of historic centres like Chester and York. He said: ”Worcester has a lot of things that other places like Cheltenham and Gloucester don’t have like the river, the heritage of the English Civil War and Worecester pottery: a lot more can be made of that.”

Potential development opportunities have been identified as part of the masterplanning exercice which include office and mixed use developments around the city’s Shrub Hill station and riverside hotels and flats.

 

Philippa Smith, deputy director of economic development and planning at Worcester Council, told the conference that the council is disputing the Department of Communities and Local Government’s recently published housing numbers for the city. She said: “The figures put out by government aren’t correct and don’t take into account our sustainable urban extensions. We have written asking for a meeting to clarify some of the issues and the best approach to calculating our housing need.”

A review of the recently adopted South Worcestershire Development Plan, which covers the city, is due to commence at a launch event on January 31st. The council is aiming to publish its preferred options by the end of 2019 and submit the plan to the CLG by March 2021.

The council are close to reaching an agreement with potential developers on the sustainable urban extensions earmarked in the development plan, accordingly to Smith.

David Warburton, director at Homes England, told delegates that the recently relaunched housing quango would have a sharper focus on larger strategic sites on the edge of cities.

Alan White, chief executive of Malvern Hills Science Park said that a deal was proceeding that would increase its floorspace to around 350k sq ft.

And Stephen Pratt, group land director of Godwin Developments, said the midlands developer is currently drawing up plans for the redevelopment of an industrial site in Worcester city centre. He said the £60m scheme will generate around 350 private rented apartments and 70,000 sq ft of retail as well as reopening a currently closed stretch of canal.