The Bolesworth team started 2016 in a new location – The Liverpool Echo Arena where we were hosting the Liverpool International Horse Show. The whole team was involved to help deliver a fantastic inaugural event.
Back at base, work was in full swing to deliver another phase of growth at Chowley Oak Business Park. Our skilled team of in house tradesmen and contractors constructed 3,750 sq.ft of top quality office and laboratory space for Envin Scientific. Envin have been at Bolesworth for over 15 years, starting in a converted barn, before moving to Chowley.
This building marks the end of the first phase of growth at Chowley and is the culmination of 30 years of providing high quality rural office space. In 2016 we successfully secured outline planning consent for a further 3.4 hectares of development land at Chowley which will ensure we are able to meet the needs of business for many years to come.
Demand for our residential property remained strong throughout the year and we continued a programme of property refurbishment across our portfolio. Aqueduct Cottage was renovated to a high standard and showcased the skill set that we have within our construction team at Bolesworth.
We finally achieved full planning consent for 30 houses in Tattenhall and we are proud to be working with Redrow Homes to deliver these.
We have also worked hard to bring connectivity and high speed internet to our businesses and communities – our wireless line of sight network went live with ITS Technology providing the technical wizardry. Most locations at Bolesworth can now achieve 30Mbps download speeds – essential to do business in the rural area.
Summer 2016 saw two major public events at Bolesworth. Bolesworth International was now in its ninth year and the Bolesworth team delivered an exceptional show despite the very worst weather we have encountered with several inches of rain falling in an hour.
Just 4 weeks later we hosted CarFest North. A little unsure of what to expect, the event (which raised over £1 million for BBC Children in Need ) exceeded our expectations – it was simply fantastic to see so many people at Bolesworth enjoying the spectacle of the cars on the track and enjoying some great music from the likes of Kaiser Chiefs and Bryan Adams. My own highlight of the weekend was undoubtedly bringing out my inner raver whilst dancing to Faithless as the sun set.
2016 was also tinged with sadness with the death of our dear friend and colleague Alison Sharp. Alison was a part of the team at Bolesworth for 16 years and dedicated herself to the Estate and the people within it. Her enthusiasm, wise counsel and good humour are greatly missed. Bolesworth is like a family and non more so that at times like this.
We look ahead to 2017 which looks to be an exciting year with a number of construction projects ahead of us. These include the completion of phase one of the Inspired Tattenhall retirement community as well as the construction of affordable housing in Burwardsley and a new dwelling in Harthill.
As I write this we are busy making final preparations for the 2017 Liverpool International Horse Show where we once again take over the whole of the Echo Arena. Our events calendar for 2017 is already beginning to fill up too – Bolesworth International 2017 in June, the return of CarFest North at the end of July. We also are very excited to be hosting the brand new Bolesworth Proms in September. A two night music event featuring Classic Ibiza and the Great British Prom in the beautiful Bolesworth showground.
Keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for all the latest updates.
In the meantime, we wish you a happy and prosperous 2017.
Matthew Morris
Estate Manager
