Seven years of transformational development at a game-changing tech campus in Hull is continuing with construction underway on the final office building. The net zero building is the final phase of leading developer Wykeland Group’s @TheDock complex in the city’s vibrant Fruit Market urban village. It will provide a further
Property industry heavyweight Paul Millington has become the new Non-Executive Chair of leading Yorkshire commercial developer Wykeland Group. Mr Millington, who has held senior Board positions with the Evans Property Group for 27 years, has been appointed to Chair the Wykeland Board as the business delivers a series of major
Leading Yorkshire commercial property developer Wykeland Group has secured an £80m-plus investment by global medical technology business Smith+Nephew. Subject to planning approval, Smith+Nephew has announced it will build a new research and development and manufacturing facility for its Advanced Wound Management franchise at Wykeland’s Melton West business park in East
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Seven years of transformational development at a game-changing tech campus in Hull is continuing with construction underway on the final office building. The net zero building is the final phase of leading developer Wykeland Group’s @TheDock complex in the city’s vibrant Fruit Market urban village. It will provide a further 11,000 sq ft of prime office space and bring 150 more advanced tech jobs to the area. The building will complete a cluster of prime office space at the @TheDock development, which includes the pioneering Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub. The @TheDock development has regenerated a previously derelict waterfront site and become the catalyst and focal point for Hull’s fast-growing tech sector. Yorkshire-based contractor Castlehouse Construction is delivering the works, with the final building having been designed by leading architectural practice The Harris Partnership, also based in Yorkshire. The developer’s agent for the project is LHL Group, again Yorkshire-based. A total of around 300 workers will be on site across the various stages of the construction process, with the building scheduled to be completed in summer 2023. John Gouldthorp, Asset Manager at Hull-based Wykeland, said: “It’s great that work is now underway on this exciting development. “@TheDock has been a tremendous success and this latest phase underlines our confidence in the continuing growth of the tech sector in Hull and the wider region. “Our previous investments on this site have generated dozens of new digital businesses and hundreds of highly-skilled tech jobs. This final building will create exciting new opportunities to be part of one of the UK’s most successful tech communities within a building with exceptional sustainability credentials.” Site preparation and groundworks have been completed and piling work has now begun on site. Castlehouse Construction was previously contracted by Wykeland to deliver the first phase of the £20m transformation of the former Northallerton Prison site in North Yorkshire into the award-winning Treadmills mixed-used development. Phil Dewell, Construction Director at Castlehouse Construction, said: “Having previously worked with Wykeland on the first phase of The Treadmills development in Northallerton, we were delighted to be chosen for this project. “Wykeland has a track record of delivering developments which have a significant economic impact on the area they serve. The @TheDock tech campus is a perfect example of that and we’re delighted to be finishing what has been a transformational development for the city.” The new building will have exceptional sustainability credentials, making it one of Hull’s most environment-friendly developments as well as increasing its appeal to potential occupiers keen to reduce their carbon footprint. The building will be powered by renewable energy generated via an array of roof-mounted solar panels. A green roof formed by flowering plants and a green wall section will also support biodiversity, while adding to the building’s insulation. The building will be rated BREEAM “Very Good” – a sustainability assessment that will put it in the top 25% nationally for non-domestic buildings. It will have an EPC energy rating of A – the highest possible to achieve – and will be mechanically heated, cooled and ventilated by a system that uses air source heat pumps and takes heat energy from extracted air and uses it to pre-heat incoming air. The undercroft car parking will feature electric vehicle charging points and cycle storage spaces, while energy efficient sensor lighting will also be installed within the building to reduce its carbon footprint. The project is supported by funding received from the European Regional Development Fund. The building is available for let to either a single business or multiple tenants, with suites from 2,250 sq ft to the full 11,000 sq ft. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Property industry heavyweight Paul Millington has become the new Non-Executive Chair of leading Yorkshire commercial developer Wykeland Group. Mr Millington, who has held senior Board positions with the Evans Property Group for 27 years, has been appointed to Chair the Wykeland Board as the business delivers a series of major developments vital to regeneration and economic growth across Yorkshire and the Humber. He is joined on the Wykeland Board by a new Non-Executive Director, Richard Dawson, who brings to the business more than 30 years’ experience in senior financial, commercial and strategic roles. The new appointments bring further experience and expertise to the Wykeland Board as the business delivers some of the biggest and most ambitious developments in its history of more than 50 years. They include a £150m retail logistics fulfilment centre, for which Wykeland secured planning approval, and a £100m research and development and manufacturing facility for global medical technology business Smith+Nephew, which is going through the planning process. Both of these developments are at Wykeland’s Melton West business park, west of Hull, which is one of Yorkshire’s premier locations for large-scale investments. As well as Melton West, Wykeland’s flagship developments include the Bridgehead business park close to the Humber Bridge; the £100m-plus Fruit Market urban village in Hull, in partnership with Beal Homes; the £20m Treadmills mixed-use scheme on the site of the former Northallerton Prison in North Yorkshire; Hull’s @TheDock tech campus; the Flemingate retail and leisure destination in Beverley, East Yorkshire; and Europarc, the premier business location on the south bank of the Humber. Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “We’re delighted that two such highly-respected property industry leaders have joined our Board. “Paul and Richard are well-known figures on the North of England property scene and bring to the Board decades of high-level experience which will support our next phase of growth. “Their expertise will reinforce our excellent executive team and will be important as we deliver existing developments and capitalise upon the many exciting new opportunities we have identified.” Mr Millington has held a series of senior Board level positions with Leeds-based Evans Property Group, one of the UK’s leading privately-owned property investment and development companies, with net assets of over £600m. His roles have included Group Finance Director, Overseas Investment Director and Executive Director responsible for overseeing the growth of the Dakota Hotels business. Mr Dawson became Finance Director of Highstone Group in 2001 and then became Head of Family Office for the Moore Family in 2007. This position included a key role in the growth of Wilton Developments, the Leeds-based property development business within the Moore Group. Mr Millington succeeds former William Jackson Food Group Chairman Christopher Oughtred as Chair of Wykeland Group, while Mr Dawson replaces Neil Stothard, Chief Executive of construction products and services specialist Vp PLC, as Non-Executive Director. Mr Millington said: “I’m delighted to be joining one of the region’s leading property developers. Wykeland is a fantastic business, underpinned by strong core values, and its engagement with community stakeholders has enabled it to consistently deliver first-class developments. “I’m really looking forward to working with Dominic and the executive team and to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.” Mr Dawson said: “Wykeland Group has an outstanding reputation for delivering high-quality projects and combining excellent financial results with a strong ethical code and values. With a healthy balance sheet and an enviable development pipeline, Wykeland is in a great position to build for the future.’’ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Leading Yorkshire commercial property developer Wykeland Group has secured an £80m-plus investment by global medical technology business Smith+Nephew. Subject to planning approval, Smith+Nephew has announced it will build a new research and development and manufacturing facility for its Advanced Wound Management franchise at Wykeland’s Melton West business park in East Yorkshire. The location is just eight miles from Smith+Nephew’s current site in Hull, where the business has been located for more than 100 years. The new facility is expected to open in 2024. The investment will create a world-class R&D, manufacturing and flexible office environment, which is expected to support more than £8bn of sales in its first 10 years of operation. Melton West business park has been selected for the investment because of its proximity to the existing Hull facility. It also offers a site with the size and established infrastructure to accommodate the new facility and is allocated under the East Riding of Yorkshire Local Plan for developments of this kind. Dominic Gibbons, Managing Director of Hull-based Wykeland, owner and developer of Melton West, said: “We are delighted the strategic, long-term investments we have made in the infrastructure at Melton West business park have enabled Smith+Nephew to stay within the region and make such a huge investment in a state-of-the-art new facility. “Smith+Nephew is one of the region’s leading employers, with a proud local history and heritage. This investment will open an exciting new chapter in that story.” Simon Fraser, President of Advanced Wound Management for Smith+Nephew, said: “This major investment demonstrates our commitment to the UK and to building our leadership in Advanced Wound Management. “Smith+Nephew was founded in Hull in 1856 and we are proud to make this major investment in the region for future generations.” The 200-acre Melton West business park is one of Yorkshire and the Humber’s premier locations for investment and job creation. It enjoys a prime location west of Hull, off the A63 and connecting to the national motorway network within minutes via the M62. The Smith+Nephew facility will be the latest major development at the growing site, which features more than one millionsq ft of completed warehouse, distribution, manufacturing and office space. In December last year Wykeland secured planning permission from East Riding of Yorkshire Council for a £170m retail logistics fulfilment centre at Melton West. This centre will have a footprint of 558,000 sq ft and create 1,300-1,500 permanent jobs, additional seasonal and indirect employment, and further jobs during the construction phase. Last year Amazon opened a 125,000 sq ft last mile delivery centre on an adjacent site at Melton West and a new command and control facility for Humberside Police has recently been handed over and is due to be operational later this year. Other leading businesses at Melton West include Heron Foods, which has its national Distribution Centre and Store Support Centre on site; generator manufacturer Allam Marine; shower maker Kohler Mira; and Needlers, the UK’s leading supplier of safety and hygiene products to the food manufacturing industry.
