Stonehills Complex is the largest Local Authority owned or financed Managed Workspace in the United Kingdom.
The site was originally the CWS Cabinet Works.
Over the last 16 years it has doubled in size to almost 200,000 square feet on a 10 acre site with 68 units. These range in size from 180 square feet to 20,000 square feet
The Complex consists of:
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4 General Offices;
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1 Warehouses;
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28 start-up workshop units/offices;
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17 move-on units;
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4 media centre;
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7 self-builds.
Stonehills is centrally located within the Tyneside conurbation and provides excellent road and public transport links (Bus/A1/A19/Tyne Tunnel) to the Tyne and Wear region. The area has well established resources to link businesses to international markets, specifically an expanding international airport and nearby roll on/off dock facilities.
Occupancy figures since its beginning have always been in the high 90's which clearly indicates its place in the market sector and the high standards of service and support it provides to the development of successful enterprises.
The philosophy of Managed Workspace is simple - the objective is to provide a mix of property management, central services (e.g. telephone answering, fax, photocopying, correspondence, central mailing, conference room DTP), technical services (e.g. short term licences, communal workshops and technical advice), and business support to enable the new enterprises to concentrate solely on the successful development of the business.
The ultimate aim is to provide as much support as possible to minimise failure rate and maximise the formation and development of businesses, especially those with the potential for growth and value to the economy.
There are approximately 450 jobs involved on the Complex with a large percentage involved in manufacturing.
The site has attracted major investment from a variety of sources including Gateshead MBC , the EEC and Central Government and continues to generate revenues accordingly. The project has been self-financing since 1986.
The ideal tenant for Stonehills should be ready to commence trading as soon as the unit is occupied with the markets identified and the business plan formulated. It is unlikely that a tenant would be allowed to rent a unit without this forward planning, achieved either on a business course or through one of the many advice agencies.
It is the knowledge that the business is not operating in isolation, that there is always somewhere to go to discuss problems, which has made the project so successful.