ESPH CN Wealden Employment Park Development - Knights Farm West (ESPH539)

Wealden District Council are bringing to the market a significant employment development opportunity and are seeking a development partner to work with the Authority to bring forward the Site in its entirety and deliver a high quality scheme to deliver much needed employment land along the A22 corridor, attract new business to the area and accommodate local growth. The whole of the Site is in the Authority’s freehold ownership and extends to approximately 17.3ha (42.7 acres). The Authority is looking to appoint a development partner who is committed to working with the Authority in a true partnership style to design and deliver a viable and attractive proposal.The Authority expects this scheme to achieve a balanced delivery of a number of objectives around employment use, sustainability and quality design. Knights Farm is situated within the village of Lower Dicker, just outside of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that stretches to the north. The property lies just to the north of the main A22 road which provides access to surrounding towns and villages and the wider national road network, linking to the A27 and M25. The whole of the Site currently comprises farmland with some buildings.The Authority is seeking the achievement of the following objectives: (1) A high profile, well connected Estate; (2) To provide units which meet both current and future market demand; (3) To fully optimise development opportunities for maximising employment uses on the Site and to achieve a positive and distinct sense of place; (4) To maximise a financial return for the Council; (5) To identify and proactively engage with all appropriate stakeholders across the area to maximise opportunities to work with them to enhance the delivery of the objectives; (6) To drive the pace of delivery but without any adverse impact on costs/risks; (7) To implement a management structure for the completed Estate that ensures the quality of all managed areas for the long term; (8) To deliver a Scheme that makes a tangible contribution to the Authority’s climate and sustainability commitments.The Council requires the comprehensive development across the whole of the Site by the developer, albeit the Scheme may be delivered in phases.The value of £128,000,000 is maximum anticipated gross development value.