New business park could cater for food & drink sector
A NEW business park purpose-made for growing industries such as the food and drink sector could be built in Lerwick.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is looking for an architect to create a masterplan for the potential three-hectare development, which could be built on a greenfield area next to the Staney Hill Industrial Estate.
Shetland Food and Drink Association chairwoman Marian Armitage hailed the news as a “very positive move” which would allow local businesses to grow in size.
Between six and eight units would feature in the development, which could also house businesses in the “technology, engineering and creative industries”.
It is thought that each unit would measure between 300 and 1,000 square metres.
HIE’s Shetland manager Rachel Hunter said the agency carried out an “industrial sites and premises demand assessment” earlier this year in sectors such as engineering, food and drink and craft.
“At this stage we are only investigating options for development, and as most businesses in our study preferred a location in and around Lerwick we are investigating the potential to develop sites in the Staneyhill area, primarily land adjacent north and west of the Lerwick Brewery,” she said.
Glasgow economic and social research consultancy EKOS, which created a feasibility study for the business park, said the food and drink industry in Shetland employs around 400 people and generates roughly £310 million in revenue per annum.
“We welcome this plan, as know from our members how difficult it is for food and drink businesses to transition from a start-up to a larger business of more scale,” Armitage said.
“Any plan which helps them move from small scale to large scale is not only good for them but good for the local economy too, as with growth comes more jobs and more revenue for Shetland. Shetland’s food and drink industry is thriving right now, with more ambitious producers than ever before.
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“There are also a number of new food and drink businesses coming on stream with wonderful product ideas, so we know that demand for these kind of facilities is likely to be on the increase in the future.”
It is expected that work on the masterplan, which HIE says will help “promote the potential” for the site to be a business park, will start in December.
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