A Yorkshire development company has started work on its third project in the North East as part of its brownfield regeneration ambitions.
Leeds based Almscliffe-Dhesi Group (ADG), which was formed in 2019 by Neil Creeney and Bal Singh, to give new life to empty brownfield sites while also creating new jobs.
The company has started work on site this week at a new £2.62m development in Stanley, County Durham, transforming a derelict brownfield site in the town into a prominent roadside development, with signed-up occupiers including national names Starbucks, Greggs and Dominos.
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The development, which will be completed by the end of this year, is being sold to a private investor.
Almscliffe-Dhesi is now on site with three developments in the North East, with other projects nearing completion in Washington and Middlesbrough. The firm is also looking to redevelop the former Farringdon Hall police station on Wearside.
Mr Creeney, who worked for Yorkshire developers Opus North and S Harrison Developments before forming the property company, said: “We are delighted to have started work on our new development in Stanley. It means that we now have a hat-trick of projects on site, giving our young company tremendous confidence and momentum.
“It is also satisfying to be back in Stanley, which is where we completed our first successful development, converting the site of an old social club into a brand-new Toolstation store.
“Our blueprint involves locating a vacant visible, roadside site, preferably in Yorkshire, the North East or Humberside, and obtaining planning permission to develop it for retail and roadside uses. We have a number of excellent contacts for nationally renowned end-users, including supermarkets, drive-thru’ outlets and retail operators, who are looking for what we can provide.
“Our developments breathe new life into vacant brownfield sites and provide much-needed new facilities and jobs for towns such as Stanley and Washington.”
In Washington, Almscliffe-Dhesi Group is transforming an old car dealership into four retail and trade units, with practical completion next month. In Middlesbrough, the company is converting a brownfield site on the A66 into a new drive-thru’ roadside destination. This will be completed in August. Both developments, with high-profile occupiers, have already been sold to private investors.
Neil Creeney and Bal Singh formed ADG in 2019. Mr Creeney previously worked for well-known Yorkshire developers Opus North and S Harrison Developments, while Mr Singh owned a string of successful pharmacies in the North East.
Mr Singh said: “We have had a successful first three years, especially in the light of the challenges posed by the global pandemic. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far and, looking ahead, I am especially excited about our major Sunderland development, as I am a Sunderland lad.
“The positive reaction we have received so far from planners and occupiers alike has given us confidence that our business model is the correct one, creating jobs and regenerating brownfield sites.”
