A Nottinghamshire authority has announced a new business hub costing just under £4 million that will bring "more than 100 jobs" to one town in the county.
Bassetlaw District Council plans to invest in Worksop to support new businesses and job creation with the "state-of-the-art" facility that will provide rented office space for 34 different tenants.
Known as 'The Middletons Project', the aim is to transform a number of derelict and dilapidated buildings into a modern and multipurpose business hub to offer new start-ups and small businesses with a place to begin and to bring increased footfall into the town centre.
The council purchased the Middletons buildings – located at the top of Bridge Street, Worksop – in August 2015 and planning permission was granted in October 2019 with a completion date estimated as autumn 2021.
Cllr Jo White, cabinet member for regeneration at Bassetlaw District Council said: “As a council, we need to intervene in the town centre and start to turn around its fortunes.
"By creating this exciting and multi-purpose office space on the high street, it does not add to the already extremely competitive retail offer and will instead contribute to the number of people that use our town centre for work and shopping.
“This flagship project is part of our wider regeneration plans to drive investment into our high street and make our town centres a more attractive place to visit, work and live."
Funding of £1.8 million has been provided by D2N2 and Midlands Engine through the ‘Unlocking Growth in N2 Town Centres’ programme. This is in addition to funds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Sajeeda Rose, chief executive of D2N2 said: “As we look towards the economic recovery from Coronavirus, we at D2N2 are delighted to see the Middletons project continue to progress, ready to deliver new jobs to the Worksop area.”
The project will provide managed office space over three floors, in addition to virtual tenancies, with the potential to offer bespoke lay-out requests.
It will also include two dedicated meeting rooms and break-out areas to encourage networking between businesses, in addition to onsite catering.
Joe Player, director at Player Roberts Bell Architects - who designed the revamp of the building - said: “The whole team has worked tirelessly to optimise the buildings to help generate employment opportunities, as well as reinstating historic links to improve town centre connectivity.
"The project is a balance of conserving the old and designing the new, with a highly contextual and contemporary design.”
Progress on the project had been halted by the recent Coronavirus lockdown, but is due to begin its final phase in the coming weeks.
