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THAT’S CAPITOL! QARC MOVES INTO LEEDS BUSINESS PARK

Raynham House The success story of Sterling Capitol’s Capitol Park in south Leeds, by Junction 28 of the M62, continues apace.

The North East Yorkshire and The Humber Quality Assurance Reference Centre (QARC), part of the NHS’s screening service, is moving into Raynham House at Capitol Park.

QARC is taking 4,200 sq ft of office space at £18 per sq ft. Raynham House is now full.

Quality Assurance is a fundamental part of the NHS Screening Programmes. The aim of quality assurance in NHS screening is to maintain minimum standards and to improve the performance of all aspects of screening in order to ensure that women have access to high-quality screening services wherever they live.

This deal is a telling indication that confidence in the Yorkshire out-of-town business park market remains high, according to Mark Bly, associate with property consultancy Knight Frank’s Leeds office.

Mr Bly said: “Developers Sterling Capitol have created one of the most impressive business parks in Yorkshire, with an excellent mix of tenants. This deal proves that business locations such as Capitol Park remain popular in a testing economic climate.

QARC, together with the East Pennine Cytology Training Centre (EPCTC) will be moving to Capitol Park in August, bringing nine permanent and 30 ancillary staff with them. Altogether more than 1,200 jobs have been created at Capitol Park.

A spokesman said: “These NHS organisations will provide training for the Cervical Screening Programmes within the North East, Yorkshire and The Humber region. A total of nine permanent members of staff will be based at the site, with additional trainers and delegates regularly attending”.

The spokesman added: “Dr Keith Faulkner, the Regional Director for QA (Screening) and Dr John Smith, Medical Director of the EPCTC are looking forward to providing a high quality service from excellent accommodation”

At the same time, work is now well underway on a new speculative 13,500 sq ft office building, which will be situated at the front of Capitol Park West by the A650 Bradford-Wakefield road. The building is next to a superb new 109-bedroom De Vere hotel and leisure club, where work is also well advanced.

It is estimated that the new hotel will create up to 250 full and part time jobs providing state-of-the-art leisure facilities, café bar, pub, restaurant conferencing and banqueting facilities. It is scheduled to open in September 2008.

Mr Bly said: “The facilities at the De Vere hotel will add a new dimension to Capitol Park and make it even more attractive than it already is.”

Meanwhile there is 30,000 sq ft of quality office space available at Capitol House, next door to Raynham House.

This next phase in the development of Capitol Park should see the number of jobs there double to 2,400 by 2009.

Martin Croxen, the chief executive of Sterling Capitol, who are developing the 55-acre park commented: “As a company, Sterling Capitol are extremely proud of what we have achieved here. Job creation is at the heart of our plans at Capitol Park and there are already more than1,200 people already employed on site at companies as diverse as Carcraft, PetCare, dePuy, Real Radio, the NHS and the Henderson Insurance Group. We are now delighted to welcome QARC.”

For further information, please contact Robert Beaumont of Robert Beaumont Associates on 01423 323139