Multi-million pound business park expansion for Bishop's Castle to go ahead next year

Shropshire Council has announced that a £4.3 million expansion has been secured, giving firms the chance to expand and secure jobs.

The council's deputy leader Steve Charmley has described it as "utterly fantastic news" for the area.

The business park, which is owned by the council, will expand by 50,000 square feet after securing £1.27 million funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

It comes after Shropshire Council agreed to spend £3.1 million on increasing its size, as part of plans to boost economic growth in the county.

Work on the expansion will begin in the spring, with a planned opening date of spring 2022.

The new floor space will be made up of two 15,000sq ft units and two 10,000sq ft units, one of which will be split into five starter units, giving new businesses the chance to take up a premises.

Councillor Charmley said: “This is utterly fantastic news for Shropshire and further evidence that as a council we are dedicated to boosting economic growth throughout the county.

“The expansion has gained planning permission already, so confirmation of this funding will allow work to start in the very near future, with a target opening date of spring 2022.

“We are dedicated to supporting our market towns across Shropshire and we feel that this expansion will allow many Shropshire firms to expand and grow locally – creating more jobs for local people and securing further jobs already taken by residents.

“It has never been more important to support our businesses and towns and this is yet another example of us ensuring firms can flourish in Shropshire.

“We are already in talks with potential new tenants for the park and look forward to further announcements in the coming weeks and months.”

Councillor Charmley said that supporting the local economy was vital – as evidenced by Shropshire Council’s Think. Shop. Buy Local campaign.

The news has also been welcomed by Ruth Houghton, councillor for Bishop’s Castle, who said: “I am really pleased to see that the long-awaited development of Bishop’s Castle Business Park is all set to go ahead in 2021.

"This will be a much-needed boost to the local economy in and around Bishop’s Castle and I look forward to seeing work start on site.

“I would like to thank officers at Shropshire Council who have worked hard to bring this forward through securing funding and commissioning the on-site work. "What a great Christmas present for our local community.

"We can look forward to 2021 with renewed confidence knowing that this development will help new and established businesses to expand in modern purpose-built units which will be an asset to the town.”