Major development opportunities to keep an eye on in the Midlands and East
Friargate
Location Coventry City Centre, adjacent to Coventry station
Size 24 acres
Value £700m-plus
Development potential Up to 2m sq ft of offices, 400 residential units and two hotels
Planning status Outline consent for the master plan and implementable reserved matters consent for the next phase, comprising a second office of 140,000 sq ft.
Investment type/opportunity Direct investment opportunities in single buildings, development phases or the whole project.
Project time frame On site for three years delivering infrastructure, public realm and the first office building, which is due to be handed to the occupiers, Coventry City Council and the Financial Ombudsman in October.
Friargate is Coventry’s first purpose-built mixed-use business quarter. The newly redeveloped public realm will work to improve connectivity from Coventry station to the city’s retail core and surrounding areas. In turn, this will link the project to a variety of other major regeneration projects and infrastructure improvements that are taking place in the city.
Coventry is home to international companies such as Jaguar Land Rover and has two universities.
Drakelow Park, South Derbyshire
Location A38 near Burton Upon Trent, East Midlands
Size 271-acre new settlement, including a 30-acre employment park
Value circa £360m
Development potential Up to 2,239 homes, a 30-acre employment park and two mixed-use centres with retail, leisure and education facilities.
Planning status Outline planning permission granted, with some reserved matters (hybrid approval).
Investment type/opportunity Flexible, including some future opportunities.
Project time frame 2017-2032. Phase one is under way.
One of the largest brownfield sites in the Midlands Drakelow Park is bounded by the River Trent and a nature reserve, and a new bridge will link it to the A38 main highway. The nearest airports are Birmingham International and East Midlands.
The scheme will act as a mixed-use extension to Burton upon Trent, which is in an area with one of the fastest-growing populations in the country and is well-placed to meet increasing housing demands as it is not susceptible to major flood risk.
Major local businesses include Bombardier, JCB, Nestlé, Rolls-Royce and Toyota.
Nottingham City Centre
Location Nottingham is centrally located in the East Midlands
Size 123 acres
Value £1bn-plus
Development potential Three sites provide a range of office, hotel, leisure, retail and residential opportunities.
The Island A 25-acre mixed-use site.
Unity Square Three Grade-A office blocks next to the station with potential for use as a hotel.
Waterside A 99-acre residential development is already on site with phased opportunities.
Planning status Outline pre-application consented.
Investment type/opportunity Flexible, including developer, occupiers, end user and construction partners.
Project time frame 2018-23
The three areas of opportunity all have schemes planned that are expected to link parts of the city together, creating new quarters and providing much-needed business space and housing.
Unity Square has scope for 250,000 sq ft of offices and a hotel and is a gateway site next to the newly refurbished mainline station.
Conygar’s Island Site has potential for a mixed-use development focusing on offices, residential and the bioscience sector, which is a dominant cluster in the city.
The Waterfront is the biggest development and splits into three districts, one for housing, a central area proposed as an “energy city” and a northern mixed-use development linking with the creative quarter and city centre.
Other projects
Heart of Derby, Derbyshire
A £165m redevelopment of Derby’s historic cathedral quarter and the wider city centre. It will involve the creation of a new performance venue, the regeneration of Market Place and refurbishment of the Victorian Guildhall Market. The project is the first phase of the city centre master plan, which offers a range of opportunities, including acquiring assets in the area, partnerships and development.
Suffolk Park, Bury St Edmunds
This is a major £200m scheme for the east of England which comprises 114 acres of offices, research and development and industrial uses. Developer Jaynic has already sold a 10-acre site to beverage and fragrance ingredient manufacturer Treatt for its headquarters. Investment opportunities include development finance and R&D partnerships. Businesses locating to the site will have the benefit of Enterprise Zone status across 35 acres.
National Space Park, Leicester
The aim of this scheme, which is already home to the National Space Centre at the University of Leicester and some incubator space, is to develop a global hub based on space technologies.
It is also near to the existing business park at Abbey Meadows by the River Soar, and is within Leicester’s waterside regeneration area. It has been identified as part of the £180m Leicestershire Enterprise Zone.
Investment opportunities include creating funding or developing a facility for research and development, education and training.
Wolverhampton Canalside and City Interchange, Wolverhampton
The project is the next phase of a city centre mixed-use regeneration programme. It spans 22.7 acres to the east of the city centre and includes five commercial and leisure plots to be developed to create up to 250 homes and 378,000 sq ft of commercial space.
The centrepiece is Block i9, a planned office near the railway station, which is also set to benefit from road improvements and an extended metro.
