Work on more than 25,000 sq ft of speculative industrial development is set to get underway at the £150 million Bridgwater Gateway business park in Somerset.

Developers of the 100-acre scheme have decided to press ahead with building five new 5,000 sq ft industrial units, ready for occupancy before the end of this year.

The state-of-the-art modern units will include first floor offices and landscaped, dedicated car parking to the front of the buildings. At the rear of the buildings and accessed separately will be loading doors and parking areas for delivery vehicles.

“We already have detailed planning permission for what will be the only speculative development in the area and the decision by our investors to press ahead with this development now is a real vote of confidence in the strength of both the local industrial market and in the regional economy,” says Phil Wade, Development Manager at Bridgwater Gateway.

“We will be looking to break ground in the summer and these units should be ready for occupancy for Christmas, delivering more local employment opportunities in what is already a dynamic industrial market in and around Bridgwater.”

Tim Davies, head of the South West and Wales at global real estate advisor Colliers International, which is property agent for the scheme, said: “Bridgwater Gateway is right at the cutting edge of the latest generation of industrial development, in a landscaped setting just 12 miles from the site of Hinkley Point C and in an area in which the local economy is expected to grow by 45 per cent by 2030.”

Bridgwater Gateway is the newest business park development on the M5 corridor. The first phase of the mixed-use scheme, which is beside junction 24, will feature a range of new office and commercial buildings, together with a four-star hotel with conference facilities and a Premier Inn, which is already under construction.