Wilmslow's largest employer Royal London has announced plans to create an additional 450 new jobs at its campus on Alderley Road. The intention is to accommodate the new roles by building new, modern office accommodation on land owned by Royal London to the east of the existing campus.
The business currently employs around 900 full time staff in the town and wants to increase numbers to around 1,350.
Strong new business results for 2014, plus the Government's imminent pension reforms, mean that Royal London is looking to expand and has identified Wilmslow as its preferred location. The company also operates at sites in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bath and the Republic of Ireland.
The Royal London site is situated in the Cheshire Green Belt and has been identified in the Local Plan for mixed use development, delivering 75 dwellings, 17-24,000 sq m of employment space and a hotel.
Royal London's Jerry Toher said: "Wilmslow is a key part in our success story, both in respect of our achievements to date and our aspirations for the future. Many of our staff live locally and are proud of the economic and social ties between Royal London and the town. That is why I am pleased to confirm that Wilmslow is our clear preference to accommodate future growth within Royal London.
"We anticipate growing our Wilmslow operation over time, increasing the number of full time staff by 50% and providing significant new employment opportunities for the town.
"Over recent years in Wilmslow, staff numbers have grown as we have taken on more business and added to the number of customers we serve. This has resulted in the site becoming effectively full, not only in terms of accommodating staff, but also in terms of its IT and service infrastructure, which is increasingly outdated.
"In order to create these new jobs, we need better office space. This is why we support Cheshire East Council's proposed allocation for Royal London's land to the east of our existing campus. By developing this land we can create spin-off employment opportunities for Wilmslow, as well as offering new playing fields for Wilmslow High School.
"Wilmslow is our clear preference to accommodate planned growth but this cannot be done without the support of the Council and others to deliver our ambitions in the town. We very much hope that we will soon have a positive, well-balanced Local Plan in place that enables the business to expand locally, rather than at one of our other sites across the UK."
Royal London's announcement was backed by the East Cheshire Chamber of Commerce. Dave Watson, Chief Executive of the Chamber said: "We are delighted to hear the news that Royal London is looking to expand in Wilmslow.
"They are already the town's largest employer and it is great to see Royal London wanting to create jobs here in East Cheshire rather than elsewhere."
The public examination of the Local Plan was paused in November last year so the Council can make some modifications following the Planning Inspector's interim report which outlined "serious shortcomings" which need to be addressed before the Local Plan examination can continue.
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said "We anticipate sending the revised evidence base to the Inspector by the end of June according to our current programme, but the precise timing of the examination is a matter for the Inspector."
Comments
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Either way RL want our green belt. Must be plenty of empty offices in Wilnslow for a data centre and other back office functions. Go buy one and get moving now plus start hiring. Why wait? Be aggressive and take business from your competitors. Silly not to.
I am, of course, making the assumption that the “land owned by Royal London to the east of the existing campus” which they wish to develop is the green belt area.
I am aware that Royal London has held, or intends to hold, talks with the Council on their plans for the site but it does seem to me a bit arrogant/presumptuous to announce plans to develop the site before a) there is a Local Plan in place stating that the land is allocated for development and b) a pre-application public consultation has been conducted (especially when the consultation for the Wilmslow Town Strategy indicated that 75% of the public were opposed to development of that site just a few years ago).
Please don’t interpret this post as meaning I don’t support Royal London’s plans to expand or that I am anti-business/anti-growth. I just won’t be accepting the argument, that undoubtedly will be put forward very soon, that the creation of 450 jobs on the site is the “very special circumstances” that is required by the National Planning Policy Framework to justify the inappropriate and harmful development of Wilmslow’s Green Belt.
If Wilmslow was an area of high unemployment and/or we had a shortage of empty office space in the area, then yes, there may be the very special circumstances but that is not the case in Wilmslow or the surrounding areas.
At the last count, this was 184,000 square feet.
However Jones has let one lot of space on Waters Lane, which would reduce this. On the other hand, there will be by Waters, off Altrincham Road, a further 20,000 sq ft to be built.
Why do we need more offices, and cannot these empty ones be used by Royal London, as with modern communications, one does not have to be next door.
Also Jones has an 154,000 sq ft empty block in Handforth, begging for a tenant.
A friend, who is based in Bury, has an employee in the Lake District, who rarely visits Bury. An example of today's communicatons
Company has now announced further plans for a new office build complex,
RL's announcement of its intention to build a a new office complex on land to the east of its site and on its existing Green Belt site. Not content in attempting to have a new car park built on another part of its Green Belt, along & parallel with Alderley Road, this company is after destroying a further chunk of its local heritage Green Belt.
The company says, in supposed justification of its announcement for a further destruction of its Green Belt, that it wishes to create a further 450 jobs, taking its supposed workforce to circa 1350. It further attempts to justify this increase and its new build requirement on pending pension reform. This should not create any long-term employee need; the company offers annuities now and will be making full pension pot payouts when the new pension regime starts. It will be substituting one role for a new and diminishing one.
A number of questions of concern arise and must be asked by our council leaders and councillors.
1) When will Royal London consult it's neighbours and Wilmslow public prior to a planning application being submitted?
Pre-application public consultation is a standard requirement.
2) When will Royal London be undertaking its in depth & comprehensive public consultation?
3) We do not agree that simply offering to meet the Wilmslow Town Council SPP committee is a public consultation. Do you?
Residents of Wilmslow believes that as the land it wants to build on is Green Belt, Cheshire East Council should not be approving it, as the new Local Plan is still some time off, and cannot be used to "approve" any developments on Green Belt (this applies to both the proposed car park & the office build). The whole site has also received objections which are still to be heard at the Public Examination into the Local Plan.
Royal London has for the past few years, approx 10,000 sq ft of empty of office space on its site. No doubt you will have noticed its permanent "Offices To Let" notice board on Alderley Road. Its London centric management only has to reply to its own office advert!
Why not use its own empty offices instead of destroying our Green Belt??
Why does it need more?
We are reminded the company has a large brownfield car park site alongside its Lloyd House. It could build both its extra car parking and a new office site on this brown site to meet its purported needs. Why not?
RoW research shows the town as a whole has over 180,000 sq ft of vacant office space. If Royal London was truly concerned with its neighbours it would use this opportunity. Of course, this would not increase the so much loved asset value of its site and company worth. Building a new office block will, the company states, allow the company to "create spin-off employment opportunities for Wilmslow" - these opportunities will still be there via existing offices in the town!
The company also professes that it would also be "offering new playing fields for Wilmslow High School." Using vacant offices in town would not prevent the playing fields being offered. Unless, of course, the company is attaching certain strings to the "offer"!
Cheshire East Council leadership is obsessed with "economic growth". RoW would not argue with further employment opportunities but we do not agree that RL needs to pillage the Green Belt to achieve either its and CECs growth plans.
In addition to this office complex, we must not forget the company offers a further sop to CE by proposing a further 75 homes AND a high rise hotel (plus the offices) on the very same Green Belt.
Will this increase the company's asset value? You bet it will.
Do the company's directors, CEO, top management etc. care about its heritage Green Belt?
Do they have a care for their neighbours?
Do they have a care for Wilmslow (other than a pot of gold)?
Dave Watson, CE of East Cheshire Chamber of Commerce weighed in with a myopic point of view, endorsing the RL build strategy without raising a question of the advisability or necessity to build on the Green Belt. We understand the ECCC's joy at the possibility of more jobs in the town, but please may we see a wee bit of joined up thinking?
Have our elected CE councillors truly fought for Wilmslow in particular and the borough as a whole? As a reminder, at the CE council meeting on the 27th Feb 2014, the Independent group put forward an amendment to the Local Plan, that various strategic sites, such as the sites at Royal London, Upcast Lane, Handforth East, and others (all Green Belt) and Adlington Rd (safeguarded) be taken out of the Local Plan. On a named vote each councillor was asked whether he/she approved the amendment. All the attending Wilmslow councillors (Conservative) - Rod Menlove, Garry Barton & Paul Whiteley - voted against the amendment.
They voted with the Conservative whip against the amendment, thereby they voted AGAINST our local interests!
Why not write to CE's council leader, Cllr Michael Jones - - to express your views and concerns.