Economy Minister, Ken Skates has formerly opened Bro Tathan – a Welsh Government-owned business park, which is set to attract business, air and innovation to Wales.
Economy Minister, Ken Skates has formerly opened Bro Tathan – a Welsh Government-owned business park, which is set to attract business, air and innovation to Wales.
Located close to Cardiff Airport in the Vale of Glamorgan, Bro Tathan includes a fully-operational 1,800m runway and offers strong links between Wales and the rest of the world. Savills has been commissioned to promote the business park’s unique mix of attractions:
- a strategic employment site offering occupiers quick and serviced solutions, as well as space to grow through a range of design and build opportunities;
- a ready-to-use commercial airfield on site, operated by Cardiff Airport;
- a convenient location, less than five miles from Cardiff Airport with over 50 direct flights and more than 900 international connections.
The site has already attracted global car icon Aston Martin, and Bro Tathan will ultimately become the company’s ‘Home of Electrification’ when its planned BEV models enter production.
Many of the world’s primary aerospace businesses operate in the area, including British Airways, Airbus, GE, and Nordam. Bro Tathan also currently hosts a HM Coastguard search and rescue (SAR) helicopter base, operated by Bristow Helicopters, providing vital life-saving support to fishing and other marine industries, as well as to land-based incidents including mountain rescue, missing persons and medical emergencies.
The launch event, which took place on 30th September, provided a platform to promote the vision and potential of Bro Tathan to land and property developers and a range of business sectors and leaders.
Economy and Transport Minister, Ken Skates, said:
“Bro Tathan is a really exciting opportunity for the Welsh economy and the business park will be a site of genuine global interest. Our message is clear; Wales is open for business. The area has a strong aerospace and defence heritage, along with access to the skills that businesses need to thrive. Bro Tathan has already proven its worth to a number of companies and I look forward to seeing it attract more in the future.”
Head of Savills development in Cardiff, Scott Caldwell, said:
“Bro Tathan’s considerable scale, strategic location and co-location with a commercial airfield represents a significant and exciting proposition here in Wales. We share Welsh Government’s ambition for the site, and look forward to showcasing the breadth of opportunity it offers to investors, developers and businesses in the UK and internationally.”
Bro Tathan’s specific opportunities are:
- Ffordd Bro Tathan is the new £15m northern access road, built by Griffiths, now providing unrestricted access to the park, creating a strong sense of arrival for visitors, and Bro Tathan North, offering existing facilities suitable for storage, distribution and manufacturing, as well as scope for a variety of new build opportunities;
- Y Porth is the new gateway to the park aimed at delivering a mixed-use scheme on approximately 17 acres, with capacity to deliver some 200,000 sq. ft. of office, hotel, retail and showroom type uses. The first phase, comprising hotel and retail uses, will be launched this autumn;
- Bro Tathan West is ideally suited to businesses requiring airside access and services. A planning application has recently been submitted to deliver over 400,000 sq. ft. of new and flexible hangarage space located in a prominent position alongside the existing taxiway and adjacent to Aston Martin;
- Bro Tathan East represents a major redevelopment opportunity. On a site of 130 acres it has capacity to deliver over 2m sq. ft. of floorspace to satisfy inward investment opportunities of varying scale, uses and configuration with the ability to provide airside access if required. Demolition of existing buildings is underway and a planning application is due to be lodged shortly;
- Bro Tathan South is already home to a number of rotary-wing aircraft operators such as Bristow Helicopters and the National Police Air Service, and a variety of development opportunities are available here for similar operations.