Works begins on major pub development

Greene King runs the hugely successful Hungry Horse chain, which is renowned for its family friendly pub-restaurant venues.

Building work is now under way on creating an as-yet-unnamed pub at the Weston Gateway Business Park (WGBP), located off the A370 near to junction 21 of the M5.

The growing site is already well on the way to becoming home to Knightstone Housing’s new headquarters, and the same building firm is now working on the Greene King development.

Andrew Batchelor, partner with commercial property consultants Hartnell Taylor Cook, says Greene King’s involvement shows how the park is proving an attractive proposition for firms looking to invest in Weston.

He said: “Historically Weston has always had plenty of land, but for whatever reason it has not been readily available, which in turn has limited employment opportunities and created a perception that the town lacks ambition to attract investment.

“This site demonstrates that when land is made available and used correctly Weston is more than capable of attracting large PLCs, such as Greene King, which will not only create a tremendous facility for Weston, but will also generate much-needed employment opportunities.”

He added that a wide range of businesses had expressed ‘extremely strong interest’ in the remaining plots at WGBP.

Matthew Brown, business unit director for Hungry Horse, said: “We considered a number of sites in the area but Weston Gateway Business Park really stood out in terms of location.

“With various infrastructure and development projects in the pipeline for Weston we see it as a town on the up and we are very pleased to now be part of that.”

And Gemma Hughes, director at site manager Dowlas UK, said: “We are delighted that Greene King has decided to build at WGBP.

“This will provide a great amenity for the business park as a whole and will be a great attraction for future businesses that come to the site.”