Property industry heavyweight Paul Millington has become the new Non-Executive Chair of leading Yorkshire commercial developer Wykeland Group. Mr Millington, who has held senior Board positions with the Evans Property Group for 27 years, has been appointed to Chair the Wykeland Board as the business delivers a series of major developments vital to regeneration and economic growth across Yorkshire and the Humber. He is joined on the Wykeland Board by a new Non-Executive Director, Richard Dawson, who brings to the business more than 30 years’ experience in senior financial, commercial and strategic roles. The new appointments bring further experience and expertise to the Wykeland Board as the Hull-based business delivers some of the biggest and most ambitious developments in its history of more than 50 years. They include a £150m retail logistics fulfilment centre, for which Wykeland secured planning approval, and a £100m research and development and manufacturing facility for global medical technology business Smith+Nephew, which is going through the planning process. Both of these developments are at Wykeland’s Melton West business park, west of Hull, which is one of Yorkshire’s premier locations for large-scale investments. As well as Melton West, Wykeland’s flagship developments include the Bridgehead business park close to the Humber Bridge; the £100m-plus Fruit Market urban village in Hull, in partnership with Beal Homes; the £20m Treadmills mixed-use scheme on the site of the former Northallerton Prison in North Yorkshire; Hull’s @TheDock tech campus; the Flemingate retail and leisure destination in Beverley, East Yorkshire; and Europarc, the premier business location on the south bank of the Humber. Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “We’re delighted that two such highly-respected property industry leaders have joined our Board. “Paul and Richard are well-known figures on the North of England property scene and bring to the Board decades of high-level experience which will support our next phase of growth. “Their expertise will reinforce our excellent executive team and will be important as we deliver existing developments and capitalise upon the many exciting new opportunities we have identified.” Mr Millington has held a series of senior Board level positions with Leeds-based Evans Property Group, one of the UK’s leading privately-owned property investment and development companies, with net assets of over £600m. His roles have included Group Finance Director, Overseas Investment Director and Executive Director responsible for overseeing the growth of the Dakota Hotels business. He has represented Evans Property Group on the Boards of several joint ventures, including with LendLease, Land Securities PLC, Harworth Group PLC, Kelda Group, CALA Homes, the University of York and the Kodak Pension Fund. He also acted as an Advisor to the Evans Family Trust and sat on the Evans Family Council. Mr Dawson became Finance Director of Highstone Group in 2001 and then Head of Family Office for the Moore Family in 2007. This position included a key role in the growth of Wilton Developments, the Leeds-based property development business within the Moore Group. Mr Millington succeeds former William Jackson Food Group Chairman Christopher Oughtred as Chair of Wykeland Group, while Mr Dawson replaces Neil Stothard, Chief Executive of construction products and services specialist Vp PLC, as Non-Executive Director. Mr Millington said: “I’m delighted to be joining one of the region’s leading property developers. Wykeland is a fantastic business, underpinned by strong core values, and its engagement with community stakeholders has enabled it to consistently deliver first-class developments. “I’m really looking forward to working with Dominic and the executive team and to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.” Mr Dawson said: “I’m very excited to be joining Wykeland to assist with the next stage of the company’s growth and I’m looking forward to working with Paul, Dominic and the Wykeland team. “Wykeland Group has an outstanding reputation for delivering high-quality projects and combining excellent financial results with a strong ethical code and values. With a healthy balance sheet and an enviable development pipeline, Wykeland is in a great position to build for the future.’’

The South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire region saw a solid uplift in development activity during the third quarter of this year in response to the occupational demand across the sector. South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire saw 3.1 million sq ft of speculative space under construction (Units over 50,000 sq ft) across 16 units. West Yorkshire and the Humber saw a much-needed boost in speculative activity in the same period with 607,500 sq ft of space under construction (units over 50,000 sq ft), spanning across six schemes, with three more now underway. In total for region, occupier take-up year to date 2022 totals more than 3 million sq ft, 2.2m of which has come from South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire, whilst the severe lack of immediately available grade A and new stock has restricted transactional activity in the West Yorkshire region despite continued occupier demand. Rental growth in West Yorkshire was just ahead of prime annual rental growth at 11 per cent, compared to a new high of 10 per cent in the south of the county. The figures, highlighted in Knight Frank’s LOGIC report, which profiles occupier and investment market trends across the region and sector highlights the developer response underway to address the supply constraints. Commenting on South Yorkshire and North East Derbyshire, Rebecca Schofield, partner and head of Yorkshire Industrial at Knight Frank, said: “There is a good demand for newly developed space. “The third quarter of 2022 recorded 915,900 sq ft of take up in the region (units 50,000 sq ft+), bringing the total for the year to date (YTD) to 2.2 million sq ft. “Take up in Q3 was largely boosted by one significant deal; transportation and freight services company, Maersk, signed a 15-year lease on the newly-built Mammoth 602 in Doncaster, comprising 602,000 sq ft of space. Distribution occupiers remain the most active, accounting for 47% of YTD occupier activity. “Reflecting the strong demand for new, high quality space, almost half of take up so far this year comprises new, speculative buildings, while a further 32% are build-to-suit units. “Demand for prime units in South Yorkshire & North East Derbyshire continues to support rental growth. “The South Yorkshire & North East Derbyshire industrial market has witnessed a solid uplift in development activity during Q3 2022.  There remains a shortage of immediately available space in the region. “Availability has declined by 12% on an annual basis, to stand at 1.2 million sq ft at end-September (units over 50,000 sq ft). This brings the vacancy rate for the region down to 2.1%, from 2.5% in Q3 2021. However, the pipeline of new development coming through should alleviate some of this supply-side pressure next year.” Developments in South Yorkshire include Catalyst in Sheffield, Panattoni Park in Rotherham, where a letting has been agreed; Barnsley 340 which will provide 340,400 sq ft of space, 5 units are on site at Horizon 29, while PLP have broken ground on four units totalling 605,500 sq ft at Bessemer Park, Sheffield. All are due for practical completion next year. Prime rents in Sheffield are 10% higher than last year (units over 50,000 sq ft) and Knight Frank expect rental growth to continue as new developments come forward. Commenting on West Yorkshire and The Humber, Iain McPhail, partner in the Yorkshire Industrial team at Knight Frank in Leeds, said: “Speculative development is gathering momentum. “The West Yorkshire & the Humber industrial market saw a much-needed boost in speculative development activity during Q3 2022. At the end of September, 607,500 sq ft of space was under construction speculatively (units over 50,000 sq ft), spanning across six schemes, with three commencing in the third quarter.” Developments included UBS Velocity Point in Leeds, Howden 62 in East Riding also commenced, providing 86,808 sq ft of space, while Tungsten’s 230,000 sq ft Super B and 4th Industrial’s two unit development, both at Interchange 26, Cleckheaton are also well underway and close to practical completion. Iain added: “Despite the wider economic outlook, the occupational industrial market is showing continued robustness with requirements remaining at strong levels. “The issue in the region is the distinct lack of options for occupiers. Neighbouring South Yorkshire has enjoyed just under 1 million sq ft of take up in Q3 and has 3.1 million sq ft of new speculative space under construction, showing that if there is available space, the demand is there.” Iain added that vacancy rate remains persistently low. “Availability remains an issue for occupiers, particularly in the large and new-build market. The volume of immediately available space declined by 17% in Q3 to stand at 1.3 million sq ft (units over 50,000 sq ft), all of which comprises second-hand stock, mostly grade B & C, while there are no units over 250,000 sq ft available for larger occupier requirements. This results in a sub 2% vacancy rate. “Low supply continues to influence take up levels. Q3 2022 recorded just 192,500 sq ft of take up in West Yorkshire (units over 50,000 sq ft), as the shortage of stock continues to hamper the occupier market.  Consequently, take up in the year to date (YTD) totals 808,200 sq ft.  Second-hand units make up 93% of YTD leasing activity, with just one unit taken on a build-to-suit basis. “Quarter three saw just two transactions, namely the 140,000 sq ft Dianthus House unit in East Riding and the 52,000 sq ft Astonish House warehouse in Bradford. Distribution firms remain the most active this year, accounting for 58% of take up. “Industrial rental growth across the region continues to be underpinned by the supply/demand imbalance, leading to new quoted headline rents on units being speculatively developed.’’

Sheffield property company Crossbow Ventures have submitted plans to Sheffield Council for their eighth development in the city. The new project of one, two and three-bedroom apartments and commercial units will be developed on the former Avis car rental site in Ebenezer Street at Kelham Island. The scheme has been designed by the team at Sheffield practice CODA Architects. “We are delighted to have seen this latest project go through to the planning stage,” said CODA Managing Director Matt Bowker. “The CODA team have a long standing track record of developing some of Kelham Island’s most important sites and following the success of the most recent – Cotton Mill Row – we feel this is a site that demands the highest level of development. “Throughout the design process we have worked closely with Sheffield Council planners to ensure a project that should meet all the specifications for the area.” Crossbow director David Cross said: “This will be Crossbow’s biggest project to date, a six-storey development, with four storeys to the rear of the site. “It is important to us as this project not only marks one of the final pieces in the Kelham Island redevelopment jigsaw and also brings our investment in Sheffield to well over £11 million.” The Ebenezer Street proposal comes directly after the completion of the nearby £6.5 million Birtin Works site at Shalesmoor. And it follows the success of the neighbouring Palatine Gardens project, Crossbow Ventures’ £10 million development of 101 studio apartments and duplex penthouse apartments on former commercial and light industrial land between Henry Street and Roscoe Road at Shalesmoor. “We have been major supporters of the rebirth of Kelham Island and Shalesmoor, recognising the importance of the regeneration of areas so close to the heart of the city,” said David. “The success of all our projects has justified our faith in this now hugely popular part of Sheffield. “We fully anticipate that as sites within this growth area become increasingly hard to find, we will be extending our search to neighbouring Neepsend, where we look forward to enjoy similarly successful growth.”

The next phase for Kirklees Dewsbury Riverside Development has been approved at Strategic Planning Committee. The site was marked for development as part of the Kirklees Local Plan in 2019. It will deliver up to 4,000 new homes over the next decade. As the aim is to create not just new homes but new communities, the project will also deliver infrastructure including schools, open spaces, and local facilities. Once started, these initial works should take around 20 weeks to complete. The full Dewsbury Riverside project will take shape alongside the Dewsbury Blueprint over the next ten years. Strategic Planning Committee granted planning permission based on full details of the first phase of access road into the site, and outline details for the provision of new community facilities and up to 350 new homes. The application also supports the delivery of high-quality pedestrian and cycle facilities connecting to the new signalised site access junction at the existing Forge Lane / Lees Hall Road junction, as well as the ability to connect to the new Ravensthorpe Railway Station which is part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. The next steps include Kirklees Council working with local people to progress an Inclusive Communities Framework for the area which will feed the community’s future needs into the next stages of developing the site alongside external partners. Councillor Graham Turner, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “This is an exciting step towards the creation of a vibrant and welcoming new community which has been made possible by collaborative working with local people, the council, Homes England, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Network Rail. “We are committed to ensuring that the new Riverside development works for new and existing residents, many of whom have had their say about the proposals during the consultation phase, helping us better understand the aspirations and needs of the local community.” The first phase of construction has recently been completed by local company, The Casey Group Ltd with the creation of a new allotment site that will replace the original site of 25 plots with 43 plots. The transition of the existing allotment holders will start in the coming months.

Sheffield Hallam University has announced the names and purpose of each of the three new buildings that are at the heart of its emerging city campus development. Construction of the new buildings around a public green space got underway at the start of the year as part of plans to transform a key gateway to Sheffield City Centre. The development will deliver state-of-the-art facilities for students and staff, as well as  enhancing a major gateway to Sheffield City Centre and creating a vibrant site for the wider community to share. The buildings, which will sit on the site of the former Science Park on Howard Street, have been named Rivelin, Loxley and Porter, reflecting the importance of Sheffield rivers to the success of the city. The Rivelin Building will be a home for the College of Social Sciences and Arts, incorporating space for subject groups as diverse as architecture and psychology as well as providing a city-centre site for SHU Law – the University’s not for profit teaching law firm. Loxley will contain the Institute of Technology as well as being a food venue, including a café and fresh food market. There will also be a casual dining restaurant with teaching rooms on the ground floor. Porter will house the Sheffield Business School with a business lounge and state-of-the-art trading floor, providing students with practical experience of working on a real trading floor. It will also include a languages hub and be home to the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research. The buildings will sit around Hallam Green, a new green public space at the heart of the campus. This will provide more than 400 square meters of new greenery and spaces for up to 150 people to sit and relax. The University has invested significantly in biodiversity as part of the development with green roofs and roof terraces, and green corridors, an integral part of the plans. Designs include the latest technology and measures to make the new buildings zero carbon ready. They include the use of sustainable energy solutions such as heat pumps, maximising the use of photo voltaic panels and provisions to support and promote sustainable travel. Sheffield Hallam University deputy vice-chancellor Richard Calvert said: “Delivering this first phase of the campus plan represents a significant investment in our University and our city, and is one of the key commitments in Sheffield Hallam’s Civic University Agreement. We’re committed to delivering outstanding facilities for the university, modelling zero carbon ready construction, and to working with local partners and to ensure that we maximise the benefits for Sheffield and the wider region.” Campus plans are being developed by a number of key partners as part of collaborative ‘Hallam Alliance’. The first of its kind in the UK for a university building programme, the Alliance involves all design, construction and facilities management partners working collaboratively with the client through all stages of design, construction and operation. Members of the Alliance include Sheffield Hallam University, BDP ARUP (Design), BAM (Construction) and CBRE (Facilities Management). The first phase of the development is due to be completed in Spring 2024.