Council to give research park developers a helping hand
Wednesday, 16th March 2011.
The council is to give a financial helping hand to get a research park up and running in Haverhill.
The developers looking to create Haverhill Research Park at Hanchet End are to be given a loan of £0.75million to help get the project off the ground.
St Edmundsbury Growth Area Partnership recommended to today's meeting of St Edmundsbury Boroiugh Council cabinet that the loan should be made to Carisbrooke Developments, repayable in full within three years of the adoption of the Masterplan for the site, or when the first business unit is occupied.
When council officers intially offered the loan to Carisbrooke to help bring the scheme forward more quickly, it was turned down, but now the deevelopers have changed their minds and say it would assist.
The research park represents an £8 million investment on the part of Carisbrooke, who have developped Haverhill Business Park at the other end of the bypass, at a time when no one knows whether there is a market for such a facility in Haverhill.
Carisbrooke has fought against the council's initial view that higher value development such as residential, commercial or leisure should be included to help offset the costs of converting the site.
Now the council's cabinet will be receiving a recommendation at today's meeting to approve a masterplan for the site which includes this element, defined as 'low density development with extensive landscaping'.
A report to the meeting states: "Given the policies applicable to the area, any such uses
would have to be fully justified by a detailed viability assessment."
Another report to the meeting, regarding the proposed loan, says: "In preparing the concept statement for the site, the borough council had recognised that, at the present time, the economic viability for delivering a business park development on the site was marginal.
"The draft Masterplan prepared by the prospective developers proposed residential development on part of the site in order to make the delivery of the business park viable.
"However, there remained a need for significant up-front investment in infrastructure on the site before development could be occupied and therefore financial returns realised."
The developers looking to create Haverhill Research Park at Hanchet End are to be given a loan of £0.75million to help get the project off the ground.
St Edmundsbury Growth Area Partnership recommended to today's meeting of St Edmundsbury Boroiugh Council cabinet that the loan should be made to Carisbrooke Developments, repayable in full within three years of the adoption of the Masterplan for the site, or when the first business unit is occupied.
When council officers intially offered the loan to Carisbrooke to help bring the scheme forward more quickly, it was turned down, but now the deevelopers have changed their minds and say it would assist.
The research park represents an £8 million investment on the part of Carisbrooke, who have developped Haverhill Business Park at the other end of the bypass, at a time when no one knows whether there is a market for such a facility in Haverhill.
Carisbrooke has fought against the council's initial view that higher value development such as residential, commercial or leisure should be included to help offset the costs of converting the site.
Now the council's cabinet will be receiving a recommendation at today's meeting to approve a masterplan for the site which includes this element, defined as 'low density development with extensive landscaping'.
A report to the meeting states: "Given the policies applicable to the area, any such uses
would have to be fully justified by a detailed viability assessment."
Another report to the meeting, regarding the proposed loan, says: "In preparing the concept statement for the site, the borough council had recognised that, at the present time, the economic viability for delivering a business park development on the site was marginal.
"The draft Masterplan prepared by the prospective developers proposed residential development on part of the site in order to make the delivery of the business park viable.
"However, there remained a need for significant up-front investment in infrastructure on the site before development could be occupied and therefore financial returns realised."
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