Barwell forges reputation as a unique business location supporting the local community
Barwell’s unique identity as a business location was underlined during recent guest visits, along with plans to widen the business park’s community outreach.
With Barwell a designated Strategic Industrial Location for all of London, it was an important stopping point on the campaign trail for Aphra Brandreth, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Kingston and Surbiton. The tour was conducted by Colin Lawrence-Waterhouse, Asset Manager at Aviva Investors, which owns Barwell.
Aphra posted on Twitter following her visit: “This week I got a behind-the-scenes tour of Chessington’s unique industrial park. Home to 58 businesses across 21 acres, some big names like Sega and Gocycle as well as innovative start-ups. The park is thriving and it was great to hear about their plans for more community outreach.”
Earlier this year, Aviva Investors welcomed Kingston borough councillors to a breakfast event on Barwell Business Park, held in a newly refurbished unit. The event was attended by local businesses and occupiers of the Park.
Rt. Hon. Sir Ed Davey, MP for Kingston and Surbiton and interim co-leader of the Liberal Democrats, addressed the gathering with his views on Brexit. Coughlans Bakery, now an occupier, supplied the catering.
New member of the Royal Borough of Kingston’s planning department, Jen Wyatt, also paid a visit for a briefing on Barwell’s importance as a location for manufacturing, logistics and office accommodation.
Aviva Investors is launching a new environmental, social and corporate governance strategy in the New Year which will look to strengthen its engagement with key partners and occupiers in the borough, as well as supporting grassroots community organisations.
Colin said: “Barwell is not your standard industrial park. The smaller units give a great base for a start-up business whilst the wide range of larger unit sizes make future expansion within the park easy. The landscaped environment, improved amenity and transport links make it a pleasant place to work, whilst also giving the park a high quality feel suitable for business headquarters. The park is growing and evolving and we want to raise Barwell’s profile as a great place to grow your business while working with and giving something back to the Chessington community.”