Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, the Member of Parliament for Richmond, has helped break ground on a new gateway development in Northallerton, which will provide significant growth opportunities for the North Yorkshire county town.
Mr Sunak joined developer and local entrepreneur Simon Bailes and Matthew Wharton, from contractor Wharton Construction, to mark the start of works on the site, which will be known as Northallerton Gateway and create up to 100 full and part-time jobs.
The 1.2-hectare site, located next to Northallerton’s County Business Park, will feature six modern and well-equipped turnkey units for a range of uses. This includes space for two drive-thru restaurants or coffee shops, a pair of new trade counter retail warehouse units and the conversion of a vacant warehouse creating two further units for mixed use employment – including trade counter retail, storage, and industrial use.
The company behind the development – which also operates the town’s Simon Bailes Peugeot dealership, is confident it will attract a fresh mix of commercial enterprises, which will support and complement the historic market town’s range of independent high street retailers.
Adjacent to Darlington Road, one of the main approaches into town, the modern and well-equipped retail units – ranging from 407sq m to 707sq m in size – offer an ideal location for businesses to grow and thrive.
The development is well placed to benefit from several other major developments to regenerate the northern area of the town. These include the new 1,000 home private estate, Thurstan Park, to the east of Darlington Road, a proposed £2.5m Halfway Park Sports Village, featuring sports pitches and allotments, and a new primary school.
It is also close to a proposed Aldi supermarket together with established and popular retail attractions, including farm and garden supply company Sam Turner & Sons, Strikes Garden Centre, Barkers Home and Sainsbury’s.
Mr Sunak said: “Investments like this are great news, because what they tell us is that business leaders like Simon Bailes have confidence in our recovery and backing it with significant investment in our local area.
“After the last 18 months, getting people into well-paid work and developments like this are going to create lots of jobs and, at the end of this development, we’re going to have a great drive-thru here in Northallerton.”
Simon Bailes said: “I was really proud Mr Sunak could join us to mark this important milestone in the continued evolution of the town. Northallerton Gateway will offer significant growth opportunities for a wider range of businesses to become established, which in turn improves and strengthens the town’s commercial resilience.
“I’m confident this site will create opportunities for significant return, both in terms of value and enterprise. It will enhance the gross GVA of Northallerton and further add to the vibrant mix of the area’s independent stores and national chains.”
Matthew Wharton, managing director of Darlington-based Wharton Construction said: “Northallerton is a really vibrant and growing town, and we are really pleased to be supporting its ongoing development with this new project. Our team is looking forward to constructing Northallerton Gateway and contributing to the economic prosperity of the area.”
