Construction of a new £1.6m business enterprise centre in Highbridge is set to start this month, bringing new jobs and companies to the town, the county council has said this week.
The new ‘business enterprise hub’ at Highbridge’s Isleport Recyling Centre will be home to up to 35 small businesses and could create scores of new jobs.
The two-storey building will contain over 130 square metres for office space, and a further 130 square metres for ‘business incubation’ space. The centre aims to help small firms gain offices to expand their operations and create jobs.
Matthew Ballard from Somerset County Council’s economic development team visited Burnham this week to give an update on the plans and he told town councillors that constuction work is scheduled to begin shortly.
“We expect construction work to start during March, subject to final planning discussions with Wessex Water. The centre could then be completed by this October,” said Mr Ballard.
“We’ve already had interest from several local small businesses interested in moving to the centre. Seven have expressed an interest and discussions with others are ongoing.”
Town councillor Chris Williams asked whether the rental charges for the office space would be set at a reasonable level.
“I hope the rents are comparable with Highbridge’s Morland Industrial Estate, which is closing, to help those businesses. I hope they won’t be priced out,” he said. Mr Ballard said rents will be “competively priced” but said he did not have the exact rates.
Highbridge County Councillor John Woodman said: “It’s fantastic news for Highbridge that this development is about to begin. It demonstrates what an ideal location the town is for businesses and it will be great to see new jobs being created.”
Caroline Spelman, the government’s former Secretary of State for the Environment, visited the site in May 2012, as pictured here, when the scheme was initially announced.
A formal planning application was submitted last year and approved soon after by Sedgemoor District Council and the Town Council.
It is one of several projects being backed by Devon and Somerset’s Rural Growth Network which aims to create more than 1,300 jobs in the region and boost the south west’s economy by £58 million.
