Sod-Cutting Ceremony At New £5.5 Million Office Development At Strathclyde Business Park

The first spade hit the ground today (Sept 26) on the site of NG Bailey’s new ‘green’ £5.5 million regional headquarters at Strathclyde Business Park.

Representatives from HF Developments and NG Bailey, one of the UK’s leading building services providers, attended the ceremony to officially launch construction work starting on the unique and innovative development, which has a projected completion date of July 2008.

NG Bailey specifically requested a ‘green’ specification and will work in conjunction with Dawn Construction, using zero carbon and sustainable technologies to ensure the bespoke construction project will deliver one of the country’s most energy efficient buildings.

Situated in Calder Campus to the north of the Business Park, the 20,000 sq ft, two-storey building will house 150 NG Bailey employees and include features such as a ground source heat pump, photovoltaic glass, natural ventilation, rainwater harvesting, solar thermal collectors on the roof, integrated control systems for lighting and other services, recycling facilities and integral blinds which provide shade and prevent heat penetration.

William Hill, managing director of HF Developments, said: “We are entering a very exciting stage as construction work gets underway on this truly unique development.

“Like NG Bailey, we are committed to leading the industry in sustainability and we hope to use many of the energy efficient and sustainable building design concepts from the build and incorporate these into the next generation of buildings across the business park.”

It is hoped that the bespoke building design at Strathclyde Business Park will achieve an ’Excellent’ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) rating upon completion.

Colin Walker, Managing Director (Scotland) at NG Bailey, said: “NG Bailey is delighted to see work commence on this cutting-edge development. We believe our investment and engineering expertise will deliver a first-class, BREEAM-Excellent rated building. The Strathclyde Business Park project underpins our forward-thinking business strategy and commitment to the sustainability of the built environment.

“We looked at various business locations throughout central Scotland but Strathclyde Business Park gave us the opportunity to showcase our ability to create sustainable building solutions and proved the ideal base for us in terms of potential for growth, world-class infrastructure and an excellent working environment.

“I’m sure our employees will be very happy here and we look forward to working closely with HF Developments.”

The vision for the development at Strathclyde Business Park further strengthens NG Bailey’s commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of its business. The company recently signed up to CIBSE’s “100 days of carbon clean up” and aims to reduce energy consumption in its existing properties by five per cent. Over 100 days that will equate to saving the production of 50 tonnes of CO2.

In addition to the provision of on-site services and amenities – such as the private nursery, Retail Parade, restaurants, a gym and the Hilton Hotel – SBP has invested £6.2 million in upgrading the existing road infrastructure surrounding the park and introduced Project Atlas, a new pilot scheme to upgrade the technology infrastructure for Scottish businesses.

Ends

Notes to Editors: Strathclyde Business Park

Strathclyde Business Park is owned by HF Developments.  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, Virgin Media, Woolwich Plc, Camelot, and William Grants Distillers. Over 6,000 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 website: www.strathclydebusinesspark.com