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“/>The planned industrial park at exit 47 of the A1 (M).

Opus North and Bridges Fund Management have submitted a planning application to Harrogate Borough Council to convert 45 hectares into a mixed-use facility designed to support offices, logistics companies and technology firms.

The site – called Harrogate 47 – is located near junction 47 of the A1 (M) and was acquired by the developers in October last year.

It is included in the council’s local plan as a major strategic workspace and is already granted planning permission for more than half a million square feet of work space.

The new plans include up to 130,000 m² of office space, around 75,000 m² of technical starter units and around 430,000 m² for logistics and storage.

A spokesman for the developers said the existing building permit allows the site’s clearance work to begin so that it can be made “oven ready” so that main construction can begin as soon as the new permit is granted.

Guy Bowden, Partner at Bridges Fund Management added, “With Harrogate 47 such an important location with immense potential to make a significant economic contribution to the region, we are keen to keep the momentum going and so we are starting the preparatory work .

“The work carried out will ensure that the land is ready for construction, which could begin as early as the summer of 2021, and our appointed representatives are already in extensive discussions with potential occupiers who have expressed an interest in the program.”

The appointed industrial agents for Harrogate 47 are CBRE and Gent Visick, with office inquiries directed to the office agency teams at CBRE.

Oliver Freer of CBRE’s Northern Planning Team, who prepared the planning application, said: “The new master plan for Junction 47 responds to market demand for work accommodation for office, high tech / hybrid and logistics purposes at this location and is in Conformity with the land allotment of the site.

“Successful approval would enable much-needed commercial space to be made available for local businesses to stay and attract new foreign investment to the district, while unlocking the potential for around 2,000 new local jobs.”

Ryan Unsworth, Head of Development at Opus North, added, “We have worked hard with our appointed advisory team and key stakeholders since we acquired the site to develop a master plan that maximizes the potential for job creation on the site while at the same time Current and expected aspects take into account regional demand for sustainable office and industrial accommodation.

“We are confident that our application will capture these issues and look forward to the first on-site work to facilitate development.”

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter