Work underway on new business centre

Work, which includes a highways scheme, is underway on a new employment site in Staffordshire.

The Beacon Business Park extension on the A518 Weston Road in Stafford will occupy a 50 acre site.

The new employment site could create up to 2,000 jobs. Initial work is being carried out by Staffordshire County Council’s highways team to improve infrastructure – including a new entrance and improvements to a busy junction. The site will provide mixed-use land including freehold, leasehold, and design and build packages of varying sizes up to 100,000sqft.

In May this year the highways scheme, which will see a new roundabout built at the A518 junction with Blackheath Lane, received a £1.7million funding boost from the Government’s local pinch point fund. The fund is aimed at easing congestion around potential ‘bottle-necks’ and support jobs and growth.

Last April, working with the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the project was successful in its bid for an allocation of the Government’s Growing Places Fund.

Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for economy and infrastructure Mark Winnington said: “In addition to creating a new site for business, this project will vastly improve a junction on one of the main routes into Stafford – easing congestion and boosting the town’s connectivity.

“With work at Beacon Business Park starting, Redhill progressing well and developments at IC5 in Newcastle gathering pace, these really are exciting times.

“Work on the A518 should take around 30 weeks to complete.”

Work will include the new A518/Blackheath Lane roundabout, a new link road on to the site and a new signal crossing.