Strathclyde Business Park begins £4.6 million road infrastucture investment

After five years of wrangling with the Scottish Executive, work has finally begun on a £4.6million programme aimed at alleviating traffic congestion in and around Strathclyde Business Park.

Joint venture partners HF Developments and AWG Property Ltd have appointed leading construction management company Farrans Construction Ltd to carry out the 40 week infrastructure upgrade, which will see an additional slip road being created on the northbound A725, alongside the widening of both the roundabouts on the Diamond Interchange on approach to the Park.

For William Hill, founder of Strathclyde Business Park, the sight of construction beginning is certainly one for sore eyes. Having battled since 2001 to improve road safety for both his tenants and the wider Lanarkshire community, the journey to this point has been far from smooth.

William explained “We have been in close communication with the Executive since March 2002, when our initial approach was made. Both myself and JMP, our traffic consultants, have had the torturous task of repeatedly demonstrating to the Executive the merits and benefits of our designs. Although planning permission was granted in April 2003, it has taken until the 29th of June of this year to finally receive permission to construct the new slip road.”

Maps showing the road on completion, along with details of the traffic diversions, can all be found by logging on to our website: www.strathclydebusinesspark.com. There is an email update facility that people can sign up for, to receive regular progress reports and details of traffic diversions.

The plans submitted by the developers have taken into account all the future plans for the Park, which still has 500,000 sq ft of office space still to be built, and more. The consultant traffic engineers, JMP, are confident that on completion, the current levels of congestion will be alleviated.

The new sliproad is expected to be completed by December 2006, offering an alternative access route to the Park, allowing work to begin on the two roundabouts at either side of the A725. Three phases of work are planned, which is targeted to be completed by August 2007.

Plans were also been put forward by the developers to improve the access to the Shawhead flyover from the A725, but these plans have yet to receive approval from the Scottish Executive, despite five years of dialogue on the subject.

Notes to Editors:

Strathclyde Business Park is a joint venture between HF Developments and AWG Property Limited. Well established as one of Scotland's most successful business locations, it is situated in 155 acres of mature parkland near Bellshill, Lanarkshire. The Park provides over 1.4 million sq ft / 130,060 sq m of business and lifestyle space to some of Scotland’s top companies, including Scottish Power, NTL, Woolwich Plc, Camelot, William Grants Distillers and Laing O’Rourke. Over 5,500 people are currently employed at the Park.

The site Masterplan provides for a further 500,000 sq ft / 46,450 sq m of accommodation, which will bring an anticipated 4,000 extra jobs to the Park.
Located in the heart of the Central Belt, the Park is minutes from the M8, M74 and M80, providing excellent access across Scotland and further afield.

For more information on the Park, and its location, accommodation, facilities and amenities, please visit our new website: www.strathclydebusinesspark.com