19th century heritage property gets contemporary overhaul

A 19th century heritage property in the East Midlands is being transformed into 21st century cutting edge office space.

Work has begun on the redevelopment of Carriage Court – one of the extraordinary model estate buildings built by the fifth and sixth Dukes of Portland in around 1860 on the historic Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire into unique office accommodation.

The redevelopment work, part of the Welbeck Estates Company Limited’s ambitious plans to find new uses for one of the most important groups of heritage properties in the East Midlands, will see the former carriage store transformed into high specification offices.

The Estate is hoping that the building, which offers 9,222 sq ft of net letting space as one or up to seven suites, will act as a catalyst to attract key creative industries including digital publishing, design, architecture, advertising, software and games development to Welbeck.

Occupiers will benefit from state of the art office space and facilities including broadband, in an outstanding environment of historic listed buildings, well maintained open spaces, ample parking and an inspiring mix of other occupiers form the exciting Welbeck Project including the Harley Gallery, Welbeck Farm Shop, the School of Artisan Food and the Welbeck Bakehouse, with more to come.

Robin Brown, managing director at the Welbeck Estates Company Limited, said: “The history of Welbeck over the centuries has been one of evolution where each generation has adapted the Estate to meet the demands of the future.

“We have recognised the need to improve the quality of life in rural areas, to encourage diversification of the rural economy and to create new educational and employment opportunities.

“Part of this initiative is to put the heart back into a village of remarkable buildings by developing a mixed use community where people may work, live, learn and create. The office space is an important part of this wider plan for Welbeck.”

The Welbeck project follows four pillars – rural diversification, education, creative industries and the arts and aims to deliver genuine social and economic benefits to the local community and wider region.

The Harley Gallery is built on the site of the estate’s Victorian Gasworks while the Welbeck Farm Shop and the creation of Stichelton cheese in 2006 has brought national and international recognition. The School of Artisan Food offers courses in artisan food production skills and processes and research centre. The Welbeck Bakehouse, which opened last year, is already producing the very best in artisan products.

Tim Bottrill, partner at Knight Frank’s Sheffield office, which is acting as agent for Carriage Court, said: “The redevelopment project as a whole represents one of the largest and most important rural heritage property redevelopment schemes undertaken in the UK in recent years.

“The aim is to bring to life a community driven by creativity based on the Welbeck Estate by finding new uses for the heritage properties.

“These offices represent a slice of history being taken forward and transformed through an exciting project. Whoever takes up this space will not only take exceptional new accommodation but be a part of an exciting phase in Welbeck’s future history.”

The Welbeck Estate covers more than 15,000 acres of rural North Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. At its heart stands the historic Welbeck Abbey and Welbeck Village, the site of the Welbeck Project.

Welbeck is midway between Sheffield and Nottingham on the A60. It is located seven miles from the junction 30 of the M1 and ten miles from the A1.

For further details visit knightfrank.com.