Horncastle Get Go-Ahead for Office and Trade Park

December 2007

The Horncastle Group have been granted outline planning permission to develop a major office and trade park in Hull, which will feature the area’s first Green Travel Plan.

The Merchant’s Quay development – on land close to the A63 Clive Sullivan Way at the Brighton Street turn off, opposite The Junction retail park – will feature a range of Grade A office accommodation, together with a centre for associated trades such as builders’ merchants, plumbing and electrical stockists, kitchen and bathroom suppliers and auto parts and service centres.

The 4.5 acre trade park will provide 95,000 square feet of accommodation made up of three office buildings, providing a total of 40,000 sq ft, and 55,000 sq ft of trade counter units.

The Green Travel Plan (GTP) will be put into place to encourage the 300 or so people based at the site to travel to and from work using the most environmentally-friendly forms of transport.

Horncastle Director Ian Hodges said: “Green Travel Plans have been put forward by the Highways Agency to help ensure that new developments do not create congestion.

“After long and detailed discussions with the Highways Agency we have now got the area’s first Green Travel Plan agreed. Under the GTP, a Horncastle Travel Plan Co-ordinator will be appointed to make the businesses operating at the site aware of all the public transport facilities that are available and the different ways of getting to the site that don’t involve a car.


“There will be a regular exchange of information between Horncastle and a number of Travel Plan Co-ordinators who will be appointed to represent the companies on site. For example, people will feel much safer walking or cycling to work if they are not on their own, so we will be setting up a GTP website for the development, enabling people from different companies to post messages about sharing transport arrangements.

“We will also be looking at whether we can set up a car rental or loan scheme on the site so that people needing a car for business can hire one by the day or even by the hour. We will also be providing substantial parking in well lit areas for cyclists and motorcyclists, together with shower facilities.”

Mr Hodges said that although Horncastle are obliged to act as Travel Plan
Co-ordinators for five years, they are so committed to the concept that they are even looking to introduce it at some of their other sites which already have planning permission.

Horncastle are hoping to gain detailed planning permission for Merchant’s Quay by February 2008. Construction work will then start on site, with the first units scheduled to be ready by September 08.

Nick Pearce of PPH Commercial, who are joint agents for Merchant’s Quay with Jones Lang LaSalle, said: “Merchant’s Quay will be the first purpose built trade park available in the west of Hull, which is the most favoured business area. The site is high profile, with 61,000 vehicles passing it per day. We have only just started the preliminary marketing but have already had an exceptional response. The office scheme will provide much needed Grade A space, of which there is a great shortage in the area.”

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