South Bedfordshire District Council is planning to lobby the Government to designate an enterprise zone covering either 350 acres in Dunstable or 100 acres at Leighton Buzzard.
The council argues that the local area is faced with an unprecedented level of vacant commercial floorspace. And it is particularly concerned that if AWD – which is currently in receivership – closes its industrial/warehouse unit then there could soon be buildings or land equivalent to around 3.5m sq ft of space available in Dunstable and Houghton.
Similarly, if Lancer Boss reduces its manufacturing capacity in Leighton Buzzard then the potential vacant space in this area could reach 2.8m sq ft.
“We realise that there is only a slim chance of persuading the Government to designate a zone in the district, but we feel that we ought to consider campaigning,” explained a spokesman for the council.
