Pictured above: (l-r) Peter Rudd from St. Modwen and Paul
Harris from PM Harris Demolition
St. Modwen has signalled the beginning of the £100 million
transformation of Long Marston in Warwickshire with the appointment
of demolition contractor PM Harris.
Representing the first phase of the Long Marston Masterplan, a
six month programme of demolition has now commenced, removing the
former Ministry of Defence accommodation area on the site. These
buildings, which have fallen into disrepair, will be stripped out
internally before being mechanically demolished to prepare the site
for future building work.
Peter Rudd, senior development surveyor for St. Modwen, said:
"Ground clearance, site clean-up and remediation are key stages in
the regeneration process, and at Long Marston we are now gearing up
to prepare this area of the site for future development. As part of
St. Modwen's responsible approach to sustainable regeneration, over
90 per cent of the waste generated through the demolition process
will be recycled for use elsewhere on site. When the six month
programme is complete, St. Modwen will be in a prime position to
progress the next stage of development."
The 478-acre Long Marston Masterplan encompasses the creation of
a leisure development featuring 150 self-catering lodges and 150
holiday homes, an outdoor activity centre, football and cricket
pitches and a rail heritage centre. The Masterplan also includes a
total of 500 new houses and secures 860,000 sq ft of existing
employment space on site, safeguarding hundreds of jobs.
Marketing for the area of land earmarked for the leisure
development is ongoing and is being carried out by the Stratford
upon Avon office of property consultants Knight Frank.
Peter Rudd continued: "Given its location so close to Stratford
upon Avon and the Cotswolds, we believe Long Marston is ideally
located, and Knight Frank has the market knowledge and leisure
contacts to capitalise on this. The site has enormous potential to
boost the considerable tourism offering that already exists in
Stratford upon Avon and the Cotswolds."
St. Modwen acquired the 478 acre, former MoD army base site at
Long Marston in 2004. Long earmarked for redevelopment, since 2006,
St. Modwen has been consulting with the public and working closely
with Stratford District Council to identify a suitable use for the
site. The development will also retain and improve upon existing
ecological habitats and landscaping.