Landmark employment site plans get green light

Plans for a major business park, which will form part of a key employment area in Derby, have been given the green light.

Derby City Council has unanimously backed outline proposals put forward by Infinity Park Derby LLP and Rolls-Royce to develop around 120 acres of land on the south side of the city.

The development forms part of Infinity Park Derby, which is close to Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division, at Sinfin, and home to the Nuclear Skills Academy, the Nuclear AMRC building and a forthcoming new manufacturing base for Oregon Timber Frame.

The new scheme extends to about 1.6 million sq ft and is forecast to create thousands of jobs.

Welcoming the plans, John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, said: “The Infinity Park Derby area always was a long-term development, but it finally feels like it is taking off.

“Being home to the Rolls-Royce Nuclear Skills Academy and the Government’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre has lifted the profile and potential of not just the park itself but also the surrounding area.”

Outline planning permission previously existed across the majority of the Infinity Park site, but this expired in February last year.

The fresh proposals are expected to create more than 300 jobs during the construction phase, along with 2,731 jobs upon completion.

The proposed uses include storage and distribution, general industrial and light industrial, research and development and offices, along with hotel, pub and café facilities.

A statement submitted to the city council on behalf of the applicant, read: “The proposals in this application for Infinity Park Derby are supported by both the adopted development plan of Derby City Council and the framework.

“The scheme will act as a catalyst for further regeneration to create a number of new jobs, keeping employment rates high locally and thus injecting welcome investment into the local community and contributing positively to the wellbeing of the neighbouring communities.”

Infinity Park Derby is a unique collaboration between Derby City Council, the Harpur Crewe Estate, Rolls-Royce and developers IPD LLP, Wilson Bowden and Peveril Securities, which is part of Bowmer + Kirkland.

It forms part of the wider growth strategy for the South Derby Growth Zone – a major regeneration project designed to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs.

Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council, along with South Derbyshire District Council, are working together to deliver the South Derby Growth Zone.

It is expected to bring up to 4,500 new homes, 3.4 million sq ft of employment floor space, and a further 5,000 jobs for the city.

The new homes would form the new Infinity Garden Village, one of 14 new Garden villages announced by the Government in 2017 as a response to meeting local housing needs, especially for first-time buyers.

The plans also include a new junction and link road off the A50.