GLOUCESTER BUSINESS PARK IS ATTRACTING MORE BUSINESSES

Last year, Benefact (formerly Ecclesiastical Insurance), opened its new multi-million-pound o ces at Gloucester Business Park. During the construction, the specialist insurance company worked with Hucclecote Parish Council and housing developers to improve the local environment with further plans to install a fitness trail and benches for the local community.

Benefact is the latest business to move onto the park, owned by Arlington, which covers more than 276 acres. It is also home to many other major businesses including Dowty Propellers, Ultra Electronics and Laithwaites Wine.

Flurry of new arrivals at Westcott Venture Park

Drone capabilities are set to expand at Westcott Space Cluster in Buckinghamshire as drone services provider Skyports picked the park as its European headquarters and centre of excellence.

In partnership with the Harwell-based Satellite Applications Catapult, Skyports will use the facilities at Westcott to remotely operate its Beyond Visual Line Sight (BVLOS) drone flights.

The company plans to develop the location as its global command and control centre for delivery, survey and surveillance drone missions to enable remote flight operations anywhere in the world. It also plans to open a centre of excellence for its pilots.

Start-up drone company, Nexus Nine, has also taken office space at the park as a stepping stone to further expansion there.

International aerospace and defence company Nammo has moved into a newlydeveloped unit at Building 6040. The business has been based at Westcott for around 70 years.

Elsewhere at the park, transport company Speedy Freight has moved into Century Court to facilitate its rapid expansion. Speedy Freight has grown 39 per cent in the last year.

Further into the park, which is also home to a major space and rocket development facility, Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has taken a lease on Building 350 as a training base for the service’s Urban Search and Rescue team. The fire service has been training its live scent detection dog Huw at the site for several years.

Rapid Response Medical Services has moved into Building 4000. Other units within this building are occupied by the Satellite Applications Catapult’s In Orbit Space Manufacturing and Healthy Living Laboratory operations.

Construction is also under way for a major new facility, Building 6000, for garden room builder Green Retreats which is rapidly expanding onsite.