Thursday 2nd September 2010
The Lomondgate Partnership welcomes the appointment of a contractor to build Aggreko’s new £20m international manufacturing and office facility which will be a significant and integral part of the wider mixed-use development.
Morgan Sindall will start work on the Aggreko development this month. The facility, due for completion in 2012, is expected to create 110 new jobs and safeguard a further 120 in the Dumbarton area.
The new flagship plant will be used to design, develop and manufacture power generators and temperature control equipment which will be deployed around the world. Comprising of a 160,000 sq ft manufacturing facility and 25,000 sq ft of office and ancillary accommodation, it will be located on a 16 acre site just off the A82 at Lomondgate in Dunbartonshire.
Bruce Walker, Managing Director of Walker Group, which is developing the £100m mixed use Lomondgate development in partnership with Strathleven Regeneration Company, said: “This is a major step forward for the development and it is tremendous news that a world class company like Aggreko is pushing ahead with developing its Scottish manufacturing base at a time when there is so much doom and gloom surrounding the UK economy.
“Lomondgate is now becoming a hive of activity with the main contract about to start on the Aggreko facility and the Premier Inn and family pub/restaurant now within two to three months of completion. Overall the development has already generated over £90 million of value to the region’s economy according to an independent economic impact assessment thanks in part to our other anchor tenant BBC Scotland which is producing world class drama from the site.”
Whitbread’s £4.1m, 60-bedroom Premier Inn hotel and family pub/restaurant is expected to open for business in time for Christmas, creating 50 full and part time jobs.
Building work on more than 300 homes is also likely start in late Autumn, subject to detailed planning permission being granted. Persimmon Homes hopes to build 120 properties on an 8.5 acre site while Redrow will acquire 11 acres with plans to build 94 family homes on the site which is set in one of the most scenic parts of the world.
Walker Group has already plans approved to develop 109 new homes, including two, three, four and five bedroom houses on an 11.5 acre site and it is anticipated that this phase will also commence later this year.
A master plan for 20 acres of business park will be revealed to the market in the very near future.
David Hastings, Executive Director of Strathleven Regeneration Company, said: “Aggreko and BBC Scotland are two of Scotland’s success stories and it is great that they are intertwined. We are confident that Aggreko’s high profile presence at Lomondgate will act as a magnet for other potential investors and occupiers. It would be hard to imagine stronger anchor occupiers in a new business destination than Aggreko and the BBC. Together with Whitbread’s hotel and restaurant development, the building blocks are in place for a strategic business location on the doorstep of Loch Lomond with easy access to Glasgow city centre and airport.”
Councillor Ronnie McColl, Leader of West Dunbartonshire Council and a Board Member of Strathleven Regeneration Company, said: "I am delighted that the appointment of the contractor confirms Aggreko's decision to remain in the area. The safeguarding of 120 jobs at the Dumbarton plant and the creation of up to 110 new jobs will make a major contribution to sustaining and growing the local economy."
He continued: "I am pleased that the Council was able to assist Aggreko in finding a land and property solution that allows them to remain in West Dunbartonshire. This major new development in Dumbarton also highlights the great potential West Dunbartonshire has to offer to future developers and businesses."
The £100m Lomondgate project was launched in 2007 by Strathleven Regeneration Company, (SRC) a public-private partnership established with the support of West Dunbartonshire Council, Scottish Enterprise and Diageo.
SRC formed a partnership with developer Walker Group to help deliver its plans for a thriving new community on the site providing new homes, a new business location and destination services on the A82 at a gateway to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park.
So far more than £14m has been invested by Walker Group into the development, which includes significant local road and infrastructure improvements, including the construction of the new Lomondgate roundabout leading into the business park and the other main elements of the project.
Lomondgate is also home to BBC Scotland’s drama production facility where River City is made and which has hosted a wide range of other productions, most recently the hit show The Deep starring Minnie Driver, James Nesbit, and Goran Visnjic.
Further information on Lomondgate is available from www.lomondgate.com
