Horsham Enterprise Park (formally Novartis)

Delivery Body: West Sussex County Council

Theme: Regeneration

Coast to Capital LGF Allocation: £3.66m

Match Funding Contribution: £13.40m

Project Status: Delivering

 

Summary of Project:

Availability for office accommodation in Horsham is 'exceptionally low', and Horsham has an increasing demand for new office and related workspace in order to allow businesses to grow. This has been exacerbated by the recent conversions from office use to residential within the town centre.

 

In 2014 one of Horsham's key employers Novartis vacated the site after about 75 years continued operation, with the loss of around 400 jobs. This closure had the potential to increase the existing shortfall in employment space, if a developer purchased the site and followed the current trend of turning office into residential.

 

Therefore, as site closure plans emerged, the County Council and partners were committed to making every effort to sustain high value employment at such a significant business location in the centre of Horsham, and in 2017 Coast to Capital awarded West Sussex County Council with Local Growth funding to help acquire the vacant site, and to ensure that the financial viability of delivering high quality business space as a part of the wider mixed use development.

 

Key Outputs:

• 1,200 jobs
• 32,000 sqm of commercial floor space
• 300 homes