MP Alan Duncan says he support the councils purchase, saying if the property had been placed on the open market and sold to the highest bidder it would have been likely used for housing, adding it is not
a suitable area for housing.
I wonder what the residents on the outside boundary think of that?
I agree for the need for new jobs, what he fails to see is this councils is not capable of creating new jobs.
The have a dump up the road which they refer to as a business and enterprise estate, it has failed, units
either empty or used by Rutland County Council. It is hard to see where the £145,000 east midland's development money was spent on that project. Maybe it was on the sand bags due to the flooding of the
site. Tory Deputy Leader Terry King says this site will be sold along with the salt barn and he hopes this will help fund the prison conversion. He is also hoping to divert 106 payments due to Oakham from Hawksmead to build a community centre for the sports part of his Ashwell project.
Lets hope Ashwell don't end up with two dumps on their doorstep.
Part of block to be demolished, damaged during the 2009 riot, I wonder if Cllr King has considered
the cost of demolition.
What the Council say:
Ashwell Business Park
The long-term future of the former Ashwell Prison site is finally secure after Rutland County Council completed a deal to buy the site from the Ministry of Justice.
The council plans to turn the 10 hectare site into a vibrant business park with a great choice of office and industrial units, at affordable prices, and suitable for a range of small to medium sized businesses.
The site also offers a good range of sports and recreation facilities which will no doubt provoke a great deal of interest from local clubs and groups.
It’s hoped the first tenants could be moved in before the end of the summer, subject to a successful planning application for change of use which will be submitted in the next few weeks.
Council Leader Roger Begy: “This is a very exciting project for the local community and is important for two reasons. Firstly, it provides much-needed business units and facilities at affordable rates, giving local businesses and entrepreneurs the chance to get themselves up and running. Secondly, it secures the future of a key site in Rutland, which could easily have remained boarded up for a number of years.”
Roger Begy added: “There are more than 25 individual buildings ranging from small office space right through to larger workshops and even sports facilities. Lots of businesses have already contacted the council after hearing about our plans last year, and we are more than happy to talk to any small to medium sized business who may be thinking about relocating or expanding.”
Rutland County Council has already started working with a technical team to put together a masterplan for the site which will help make the transition from prison to business park.
During the next few months, the prison fencing along the front of the site is expected to be removed as well as the razor wire. The concrete accommodation blocks damaged during the 2009 prison riot will be demolished to make way for new units.
A few examples of the type of units available for rent include:
- 5500 sq. ft. unit with open plan workshops and office facilities (Ind2)
- 1900 sq. ft. open plan workshop/store with small office (Ind7)
- 8800 sq. ft. high quality, new build, former production kitchen with storage (Ind17)
- 10800 sq. ft. new build workshops (3) with roller shutter and entrance door (Ind18)
- 6500 sq. ft. new build office suites with approximately 15 office spaces (Off23)
- 900 sq. ft. of container storage (Yar14)
Due to the amount of buildings on site, any refurbishment work required will take place in a phased timetable over the next few years.
The former Ashwell Prison site is located just a few miles outside of Oakham, and before being formally closed in March 2011, was a 600 capacity Category C prison for over 20 years.
It was first opened in 1955 as an open prison, having previously been an army base during World War II, used by the 82 Airborne Division as a parachute jump school.
Rutland County Council is a member of the Greater Cambridge/ Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership and successfully bid for an interest free loan from the Partnership to support the acquisition of the Ashwell Prison site.
The Enterprise Partnership is focussed on helping to drive forward sustainable economic growth and saw the redevelopment of the prison site into a business park as contributing towards a number of its key strategic aims and objectives for the wider Enterprise area.
In addition the creation of a business park on the site will contribute to the Rutland Growth strategy to improve local employment opportunities and to ensure a wide range of suitable employment land is available to help with business retention and growth.
Anybody interested in finding out more can view a full list of the units currently available by visiting the business premises section of the council website.
