Teignbridge District Council is celebrating handing over a newly refurbished industrial building in Newton Abbot to a prestigious local shop-fitting and interior architectural fabrications supplier, which employs around 90 local people.
The Benbow Group, which makes and supplies high-end interiors for retail, office and arts and leisure buildings, has just completed a move from its former home at Bradley Mill to a bigger and more flexible space on the town’s Brunel Industrial Estate.
The move means that the thriving specialist business has room to expand and grow, whilst the council will be able to open up the Bradley Lane site for a significant mixed-use redevelopment providing jobs and new homes on a 1.6 acre brownfield site.
The project has been 18 months in the making and has involved complex funding and commercial activity on the part of Teignbridge District Council (TDC).
Council Leader Gordon Hook said: “I’m really delighted that we have been able to complete this enterprising and challenging project, which is a win/win for the council and the Benbow Group. It is another example of our determination to play a full part in promoting a thriving economy in Teignbridge.
“The successful completion of this delicate balancing act means that an important employer which provides jobs for highly-skilled workers is able to move forward and upwards on a site where they want to be. By brokering this deal, TDC has shown that it really does mean business – both in the sense of encouraging commercial growth and through gaining a brownfield site for redevelopment”.
Benbow’s new workshop space is 30,000 square feet, with 3,500 square feet of office space – around 25 per cent bigger and the site has room for further growth if needed.
Councillor Alan Connett, TDC’s Portfolio Holder for Assets, Estates and Regeneration, said: “I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved here. The company are now housed in a bigger, brighter building that is much more environmentally friendly, with security of tenure for the next quarter of a century.
“Now we can go forward with our exciting plans for developing the Bradley Lane site for the benefit of people who want jobs, homes or both.
“We are committed to creating the right environment to encourage existing employers to stay local, to thrive and grow – so providing work for Teignbridge people. This project is a prime example of that policy in action and will encourage us to follow the same path whenever we can”.
Martin Gill, Managing Director of Benbow Group, said: “After a long journey and a lot of hard work from our Directors and Teignbridge District Council we are delighted to have finally moved into our new premises in Minerva Way.
“We now have a modern facility that we can be proud of and a fantastic working environment for all our staff, which will encourage our continued growth and success”.
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