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Development of office building at Enterprise Zone to get underway

Last updated 02 October 2023
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Discovery Building, Longcross

Crest Nicholson and Aviva Investors have announced plans to begin speculative development at Longcross Park, its 850,000 sq ft office development in Surrey. 

The £6.6M Discovery Building will be delivered at Longcross Park which forms part of the EZ3 Enterprise Zone conferring benefits, including business rates relief, for companies locating on the development. 

Construction work will begin this month on the 13,500 sq ft Discovery Building, which will offer a mix of uses including a delicatessen, bakery and coffee shop as well as 2 floors of flexible office accommodation. 

The Enterprise Zone has received more than £5m from EM3 to help accelerate development, some of which will go to The Discovery Building.  

Of the LEP’s funding, £3.35m has been awarded to increase the power capacity on site to enable additional commercial office space development, while £1.98m will go towards the public realm, including extensive outdoor terracing and a refurbished lake.  

The glass-fronted pavilion-style building offers a focal point for the development, catering for the needs of workers at Longcross Park, residents at Upper Longcross and visitors to the park. It has been designed in such a way to be adaptable for different uses in the future, enabling it to evolve with the wider redevelopment of Longcross. 

In addition to the retail and office space, extensive outdoor space is being created for seating and events, together with the refurbishment of an existing lake to provide a more tranquil seating area next to the café. 

The development of the first commercial space on the park follows the installation of a stunning totemic sculpture at the gateway to the planned scheme. The 19-metre high, steel-plated “Bloom” was designed by award-winning artist Wolfgang Buttress, with the eye-catching sculpture providing a fitting landmark for a world class development. 

Enterprise M3 is delighted to be supporting the new Discovery Building at Longcross Park. As a LEP, all our programmes and projects are underpinned by a desire to benefit people, businesses and organisations in our region. This investment will help deliver successful, prosperous and attractive places to live and work.  A new, exciting, high quality commercial development that will accelerate and enhance the pace of growth, productivity and prosperity across the region.

Linda Cheung , Chair of EM3 Enterprise Zone Programme Steering Group

The Discovery Building sits next to the next residential phase of 78 apartments being developed by Crest Nicholson. 

Commencing speculative development of the Discovery Building represents an important milestone for the development and is testimony to our confidence in the scheme and its appeal to the corporate occupier market. At the heart of the development the Discovery Building will act as a hub for the Park, providing flexible shared workspace and café for the business community to meet.

Tim Jones , Development Director for Crest Nicholson

We look forward to delivering a first-class communal hub to support businesses and residents in the area, whilst maintaining the area’s reputation as a key employment zone and economic contributor to the wider region. Longcross is more than an office park or residential development – it is a new village offering a location to live, work, play and learn. There remains a paucity of large scale Grade A office space in this market and we continue to progress positive dialogue with a wide range of interested parties.

Barry Hill , Head of UK Offices at Aviva Investors

The Joint Venture has also secured detailed planning consent for two four-storey Grade A offices of 100,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft at the gateway to Longcross Park. Each building provides efficient and low-energy space exceeding current requirements. Tenants will benefit from highly specified reception areas, flexible floorplates and 559 car parking spaces in addition to covered cycle bays and shower facilities. The buildings are being marketing on a pre-let basis enabling occupiers to tailor the design and specification to their own needs. Colliers is acting on behalf of Crest Nicholson and Aviva Investors.

Where

Address:

Longcross Park
Chertsey
KT16 0EE
United Kingdom

Map:

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