A flagship development, securing jobs and investment in Bury st Edmunds, has been approved at Suffolk Park, one ten sites on New Anglia LEP’s ‘Space to Innovate’ Enterprise Zone.
Treatt plc, the leading manufacturer and supplier of innovative ingredient solutions for the flavour, fragrance, beverage and consumer product industries, has been granted planning permission to relocate and expand its global headquarters to a new 10-acre site within the Enterprise Zone at Suffolk Park.
Daemmon Reeve, Treatt’s Group CEO, comments, “This is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Treatt. Our results are showing substantial progress year on year and the new premises are an important part of our plan for driving further growth. They will enable greater collaboration and innovation as our scientists work even more closely with our customers and there will be many more efficiencies just by everyone being under the same roof and on the same site. We were keen to remain in Bury St Edmunds, having operated from here for nearly 50 years, particularly in view of the commitment to business growth by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, the New Anglia LEP and other stakeholders. As one of the biggest employers in the area and a significant contributor to the region’s economy, the new site will also bring opportunities for new jobs and apprenticeships locally.”
Suffolk Park is one of 10 sites which form New Anglia LEP’s ‘Space to Innovate’ Enterprise Zone. The sites across Norfolk and Suffolk all offer discounted business rates, simplified planning and access to superfast broadband to new and expanding businesses. The LEP aims to create 18,500 jobs in the 25 year lifetime of the zone, including 5,000 by 2021.
Launched in April 2016, Space to Innovate sites are already home to 56 companies, which have delivered 247 new jobs and attracted over £9m of private sector capital investment.
Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Treatt’s commitment to Suffolk Park is testament to the excellent infrastructure the site has to offer, and to the superb benefits of discounted business rates, simplified planning and Superfast broadband offered on our ten Enterprise Zone sites across Suffolk and Norfolk. And of course, it’s great news for the success story of economic growth here in the East.”
Suffolk Park has Enterprise Zone status on 35 acres and will accommodate up to 2m sq ft of business and distribution units. Jaynic, as development promoter, is working on behalf of Taylor Wimpey. Planning permission was granted on 6 April 2017 for B1 and B8, together with detail for the main infrastructure and landscaping on Taylor Wimpey’s 114-acre site at Bury St Edmunds.
Treatt is a long-established company which moved to Bury St Edmunds in the early 1970s and is currently located across seven acres and six separate units in Northern Way. The company employs almost 200 staff at the UK site and supplies customers across the globe. The estimated £35 million investment in the new site (net of disposing of the current site) will enable the company to have facilities which are fit for purpose for the future.
St Edmundsbury Borough Council, New Anglia LEP and Suffolk County Council all invested money to secure the Eastern Relief Road, unlocking the 68-hectare development of Suffolk Park, while the Borough Council also negotiated the land deals to make this possible.
Together with New Anglia LEP, St Edmundsbury secured Enterprise Zone status for the 35 acres at Suffolk Park. This offers Business Rate incentives over a five-year period, to encourage both the expansion of existing businesses that previously may have been considering locating away from the area in order to find the space to grow, and to entice new businesses to the St Edmundsbury area.
The Enterprise Zone is also part of the Borough Council’s aim to lift skills and expertise across West Suffolk, creating new opportunities for younger people as they leave education.
Cllr John Griffiths, Leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said: “It has long been our ambition to create opportunities for local companies such as Treatt to expand and develop within West Suffolk, to create new employment and offer the chance for young people to learn new skills. That is why we have worked so hard not only to secure the land at Suffolk Park, but also to gain Enterprise Zone status. I am delighted that Treatt has spotted the potential that this site offers to its highly successful and growing business.”
You can find out more about Enterprise Zones by clicking here.
