St. Modwen Logistics

St. Modwen welcomes leading manufacturer to Meaford Business Park

Expert developer and regeneration specialist, St. Modwen, has attracted a leading metal pipe and hose manufacturer to its business park near Stone, North Staffordshire.

Arctrend Ltd has agreed a 10-year lease to take 36,000 sq ft of industrial and logistics space at Meaford Business Park. The unit is the first building on the Staffordshire-based business park, which has planning permission for a total of up to 1.2 million sq ft of office, industrial and logistics accommodation.

Euan Lindsay, Senior Development Manager at St. Modwen, said:

“Securing Meaford Business Park’s first occupier is great news for both the Park and the local area. We are now working on plans for the next phase of development to bring further businesses, jobs and inward investment to North Staffordshire.”

Paul Watson, Operations/Sales Director at Arctrend Ltd, said:

“The high-quality industrial and logistics space available at Meaford Business Park was exactly what we were looking for to fulfil our business’ needs. Moving into this 36,000 sq ft space from our existing base in nearby Leek, North Staffordshire will allow our business to grow further.”

Councillor Frances Beatty, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Planning at Stafford Borough Council, added:

This great news has so many positive elements. It will see jobs created while others are safeguarded. It will ensure a specialist manufacturer continues to operate in our county – rather than the potential alternative of moving to London. It demonstrates the huge confidence that investors have in the regeneration of Stafford Borough. And I expect this announcement will lead to even more interest in Meaford Business Park. “This is yet another example of businesses taking advantage of the excellent connectivity our borough has to the rest of the UK, as well as our council’s work attracting further investment to the area.”

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire LEP Chairman David Frost CBE, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Arctrend Ltd to Meaford Business Park, which is providing this thriving Staffordshire business with room for expansion without having to relocate out of our region. This prime site is part of our strong portfolio of strategic industrial and commercial developments that are raising our profile nationally and internationally and driving economic growth throughout our area. “It is great to see that our ambitions to create more and better jobs benefitting local communities are bearing fruit. Showpiece projects such as Meaford Business Park illustrate the benefits of working in partnership with the private sector and local authorities and demonstrate that our region is very much open for business.”

The LEP secured £4.2million of Local Growth funding from the government for infrastructure works to open up Meaford Business Park, including a new roundabout on the A34, improvements to Meaford Road and a new access serving the business park. The work, which also received a significant funding contribution from St. Modwen, was carried out by Staffordshire County Council.

Staffordshire County Council’s economic growth leader Mark Winnington said:

“Meaford Business Park is one of the county’s flagship investment sites and so to see the first company locating there is a significant milestone. “The road improvements we carried out provide essential infrastructure for the site and have enabled St. Modwen to develop a leading business park for the wider region. “It has been built on what was one of Staffordshire’s largest undeveloped brownfield sites and is another example of how councils, the LEP and developers work effectively together to bring more jobs and growth to Staffordshire.”

Edward Kennerley of Knight Frank and Patrick Doherty of Louis Taylor, joint agents for the site, added:

“We are pleased to have secured the first high-calibre tenant for St. Modwen at Meaford Business Park and expect to see similar occupiers follow suit due to the confidence we have in the industrial and logistics market here in Staffordshire.”

Meaford Business Park is located just off the A34 dual carriageway, immediately north of Stone, Staffordshire, and benefits from direct access to junctions 14 and 15 of the M6 motorway.

Find out more about Meaford Business Park, here.