Offices on time and within budget

Nov 19 2008 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

WORK is now complete on the £2.4m Forward Point office development, in Widnes.

Cheshire-based developer The Forward Partnership has delivered Forward Point, the first speculative Grade A scheme in the town for more than a decade, on time and within budget.

The development’s 16,553 sq ft of flexible office space is located across three new glass and brick-clad buildings boasting panoramic views of the Mersey estuary.

Situated at the junction of Tan House Lane and Moss Bank, the scheme occupies a strategic location at a key access point to the Widnes Waterfront Economic Development Zone (EDZ).

Forward Partnership’s Chris Wright said: “This is a major milestone in the reversal of Widnes’s fortunes. For too long, the area has suffered from a lack of investment which did not reflect its enviable transport links.

“Forward Point and the wider Widnes Waterfront development are enabling Widnes to punch its weight in the growing office market along the M62 corridor.”

The office units are available for sale or to let, in suites from 2,207 sq ft, and are being targeted towards inward investors and local businesses. The scheme will be officially launched at a breakfast event on November 27.

Andrew Owen, a partner at the scheme’s property agents Mason Owen, said: “Forward Point’s location and excellent build quality mean it is ideally placed to make a significant impact on the local office market. We’re expecting strong interest as occupiers witness the quality of the scheme first hand.”

The 200-acre Widnes Waterfront masterplan site on the banks of the River Mersey, has been transformed in recent years thanks to funding from the European Union’s Objective 2 programme and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Forward Point has been developed with £596,000 of match-funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

tonymcdonough