WINCHESTER has been given a major jobs boost as a new business park near the city will open in the next 18 months.

The new development at Chilcomb Park could help ease the demand for office space in Winchester and developers are gearing up to officially open the site for business early next year.

It is anticipated that the site will accommodate up to 900 workers at companies which may otherwise have moved or set up outside Winchester, where the supply of new office space is dwindling as business accommodation is snapped up for residential purposes.

It is being built by developer Cavendish & Gloucester and comprises two new three-storey buildings, providing 89,000 sq ft of Grade A offices, with associated parking on the five-acre site.

The South Block is already under construction and rapidly rising from the ground to provide a detached building offering up to 20,850 sq ft of Grade A office space. The first occupiers should be in occupation in 2018. There is also strong interest in the larger North Block, and if terms are agreed this could see the whole development completed within the next 18 months.

Commercial specialists Lambert Smith Hampton and Hughes Ellard have been appointed as agents for the scheme, with units available either for sale or to let.

Office agency director for the south coast offices of Lambert Smith Hampton, Andy Hodgkinson, said: “Chilcomb Park is an exciting development that goes some way to alleviating the problems that companies find when seeking good quality office space in Winchester.

“There is a real risk of growing Winchester businesses moving out of the city, and of a lack of accommodation limiting the prospects of new companies moving in. Chilcomb Park is an excellent example of land close to the city centre being used in an innovative way that has economic and employment benefits for Winchester as a whole.”

Office space ranging in size from 6,000 sq ft to 89,000 sq ft is available at Chilcomb Park, and offices can be tailor-made to suit the requirements of the occupier.