Increase in industrial uptake in Dearne Valley
South Yorkshire’s Dearne Valley area has witnessed a surge in industrial uptake in recent months, according to commercial property experts Knight Frank.
Fashion retailer ASOS are currently fitting out 530,000 sq ft of warehousing accommodation at Crossflow 530 in Barnsley and mobile sanitary specialists Thetford taking a pre-let of 83,000 sq ft at Brookfields Park in Rotherham, all contributing to a spike in uptake in the area.
Other recent newcomers - including roofing contractors Jarvis and Womack and marquee hire company Gala Tent – have joined current owners or occupiers such as Next, Maplin Electronics, Royal Mail, Pegler Yorkshire and Garnett Dickinson.
Dearne Valley’s commercial property area lies at the boundaries of Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley and is a former enterprise zone which benefited from substantial investment over recent years.
Rebecca Schofield, associate at the Sheffield office of Knight Frank, explained: “The Dearne Valley area saw significant investment during the late 1990s and early 2000s from both owner occupiers and syndicated investors as a result of the E Z status at the time.
“As the market declined we saw an increase of availability of units from all sizes, from 2,000 sq ft upwards. But the Dearne Valley area also benefits from access to both the M1 motorway at Junction 36, and the A1(M) and a combination of this, strong labour links and the high specification buildings on offer is helping to generate increased interest and uptake.”
At Farfield Park, Manvers, Knight Frank has let 52,000 sq ft to Gala Tent on a five-year lease with an option to purchase, while a terrace of four 6,000 sq ft units have all been let at Paragon Point.
Jarvis and Womack has bought 7,500 sq ft at Brookfield Light and Solaglas acquired Building 37 at Brookfields which they have recently moved into, retrofitting the property to provide a mixture of office and warehouse accommodation for a call centre and distribution use.
Added Rebecca: “Asos’ move to the Dearne Valley sees them relocating from Hemel Hempstead. On the other hand, Thetford’s moved from Sheffield to the Dearne Valley is not just down to staying local, but because Brookfields was able to accommodate their bespoke requirements as well as deliver a facility within their timescales.
“The Asos and Thetford moves alone demonstrate that the area is becoming equally appealing by prompting inward investment from outside the South Yorkshire region as well as satisfying the requirements of home-grown companies.”