Wantage: New industrial and office units planned at Grove

A planning application has been submitted for a new industrial and office development at Grove Business Park near Wantage. The scheme, which will deliver 10 units for sale or to let, is planned to start on site early in the new year with completion by December 2018.  

This is the next phase in the £40 million transformation of the 32-acre business park which is set to double the building area to reach 400,000 sq ft. Unit sizes will range from 1,500 sq ft to 6,300 sq ft, with the ability to increase this further up to 16,000 sq ft by combining units.

Richard Lyall, project director for Grove Business Park, said: “We know there is significant demand for this type of accommodation, especially in this part of Oxfordshire.

“It is ideally placed for business looking for a central location with its easy access to major road networks, while its new facilities will be second to none. Continuing with our overall development strategy for Grove Business Park, we aim to provide a comprehensive range of building types and sizes to accommodate most business needs.”

The development replaces a number of dilapidated former airfield buildings dating back to the 1940s. It will form part of the ongoing regeneration programme which could create up to 1,000 jobs.

Since taking over the 32-acre Park in December 2015, Grove Business Park has set about modernising its existing buildings and facilities, in addition to promoting the development of new business premises. Approximately 85 businesses are now based there with numbers consistently growing.

A total of 10,000 sq ft of offices in the central Quad area have been upgraded to form four self-contained office suites while serviced office facility Boston House has also been refurbished with room for 280 desks.

Ongoing work involves splitting Merlin House into three units totalling 5,000 sq ft with occupiers already in place for two of the units, while Aspect House will be re-built to create 11,000 sq ft of Grade A office space which could be let as one or split into several units. Construction of 24 highly flexible units for start-up and small businesses is also in the pipeline to add to the latest planning application proposals.