Construction starts on £215m low-carbon business park in Aberdeen

THE creation of a new £215 million low-carbon business park, linked to the Energetica Corridor development in the North East of Scotland, took a major step forward today with a turf cutting ceremony, marking the start of construction at The Core at the Bridge of Don in Aberdeen.

The 100 acre site is being developed by Mountgrange Investment Management and Generate Land in response to the increasing demand from Aberdeen’s oil, gas and renewables companies for additional high quality space in which to expand.

The Energetica Corridor, which stretches north of Aberdeen from the Bridge of Don to Peterhead, is a joint initiative involving Scottish Enterprise, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils which is aimed at establishing the area as a global energy hub.

Councillor Barney Crockett, the Labour leader of Aberdeen City Council, said: “Aberdeen is Europe’s energy capital and a leading world energy city which plays a vital part in the Scottish and UK economies. It is essential that we as a council continue to demonstrate that we can react quickly to the demand for more and better business space as we have done at The Core.

“It is very encouraging that a London property fund like Mountgrange is investing a substantial amount of capital to provide a state-of-the-art development at The Core. We hope their example will encourage other developers to follow.”

Derek McCrindle, partnership director for business infrastructure at Scottish Enterprise, also welcomed the new development. He said: “Energetica is a major, strategic infrastructure project for Scotland which aims to attract a critical mass of energy companies and skilled people to create a thriving business location, close to highly attractive communities in a stunning coastal environment.

“We are delighted that the developers behind The Core have seized the opportunity to be part of Energetica and fully embraced its principles of world-class design, energy efficiency and low carbon. These types of business parks will help deliver a sustainable and highly attractive environment within the corridor which will become sought after across Europe and further afield.”

He added: “With the addition of The Core, we now have five significant new business developments in the corridor which offer unrivalled quality and choice to all kinds of businesses and represent a total investment in the region of £640 million.”

Rob West, partner of Mountgrange, said: “The turf cutting ceremony is a major milestone in the creation of The Core. The energy sector is continuing to grow in the North east and is creating demand for high quality space, making it a strong investment opportunity.”

Rita Stephen, the development manager for ACSEF, the local development forum, said: “Today’s launch sees the ACSEF vision for Energetica take a major step closer to reality. Energetica is part of our ambition to firmly establish Aberdeen City and Shire as a global energy hub. We want Energetica to become home to the next age of energy, attracting companies involved in new technologies for prolonging and maximising the recovery of oil and gas but also those involved in unconventional plays and renewables.”