Business Investment

Opportunity Lincolnshire

Which county boasts some of the UK's lowest land prices and most competitive rental costs, supported by strong transport links and enviable relocation support?

If you are looking for somewhere that offers you investment opportunities, a skilled workforce, business support and a high standard of living, look no further.

From the £100 million redevelopment of Lincoln city centre, based on the acclaimed Princes Foundation master plan, to the recent launch of a new vision through Gainsborough Regained, Lincolnshire is putting itself firmly on the investment map. The county has been tasked with delivering over 20,000 more homes by 2026 - through designated growth points in Lincoln and Grantham, as well as major development schemes in Boston, Sleaford and Gainsborough.

Lincolnshire has been awarded an impressive £13 million as part of the Government's new Growth Points strategy.

The funds will be channelled into delivering sustainable growth through increased housing and employment prospects within the two appointed Growth Points of the City of Lincoln and Grantham, in the South Kesteven District.

The government has identified these two areas through a nationwide drive for sustainable development and intensive growth through sites of key regional significance.  In Lincoln, the target to deliver 14,000 new homes and 12,000 new jobs by 2026 will enable the city to effectively fulfil its role as a regional centre, whilst Grantham's Growth Point status will allow the town to increase its current housing provision by 20 per cent – in turn helping to drive forward the economic growth of the East Midlands.

Both Lincoln and Grantham share the county-wide vision of being desirable locations to live, work and visit.  In Lincoln, £8 million will fund a development strategy focused on balancing population growth with economic development, social cohesion and environmental sustainability.   Significant investment in infrastructure will support this strategy, which will include regeneration of the Brayford Pool waterside, initiatives to improve retention of graduate workers and the redevelopment of central brownfield sites for employment and housing. 

Ambitious plans for Grantham represent a step-change in the town's development, where £5 million secured through the Growth Point status will result in an additional 3,200 houses being built by 2016 and at least 6,200 by 2026.   This housing growth will be supported by the provision of an additional 4,800 jobs by 2016 to accommodate the estimated increase in population and contribute to further economic development.  This will include the rejuvenation of the Grantham Canal - once a super highway from its basin within the South Lincolnshire market town to its junction with the River Trent.  Over the years many of the red brick industrial premises built within the canal basin have become derelict, leaving the line of the canal and its basin within Grantham one of low quality uses and brownfield sites, but importantly one in which the line of the canal is again viable. 

We are already seeing a surge in interest from developers targeting both the Brayford and adjoining waterfront areas. Lincoln City Council has recently granted planning permission for the second new hotel to be built on the Brayford Waterfront.  This follows hot on the heels of the seven storey, 118-bed Express by Holiday Inn development by Warwickshire based Somerston Hotels which opened earlier this year.

Lincoln is nationally recognised as a centre for the arts, culture, education, entertainment and tourism – and regeneration plans focused on the Cultural Quarter and around the Brayford Pool will be delivered with this in mind.   Business developments are also taking shape around the Brayford Waterfront, with Innovation Lincolnshire's £7.2m 'Think Tank' now opened. Designed by the renowned Marks Barfield, the managed workspace provides 35,000 sq ft of workspace.

The office market is also seeing sustained growth, with Rugby Investments the latest to receive full planning permission for a new office development off the A16 Spalding Bypass.

This is just the beginning of a long list of new development opportunities that Lincolnshire is seeing coming onto the market.