Official opening: Dignitaries at the oficial launch of Castledown Business Park

LUDGERSHALL's Castledown Business Park was officially opened on Monday morning - more than seven years after the scheme was launched by the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA).

It was in April 2001 that the RDA said the plan could lead to as many as 1,050 jobs over 10 years, with the first jobs attracted to the site very quickly'.

Seven years on nobody is working on site but now that the first phase of starter buildings are built the RDA is expecting interest to grow pointing out that the underground infrastructure for later phases is already in place.

The initial phase, called Fitz Gilbert Court is expected to house 100 workers but there could be many more eventually across the whole 33 acre site.

"Talk in the long term of 1,000 jobs here is viable," said RDA area director Tony Bray.

But in the short term the focus is on the starter units. An incubation centre' aims to help new businesses survive and grow in these troubled economic times.

Rather than hastily filling up the site particular emphasis will be placed on people wanting to start new businesses - perhaps after leaving military employment, - with advice and expertise available at the centre, as well as initial low rents.

"We don't want to displace businesses from other sites because we don't want to see other premises empty so that we can fill these up," said Wiltshire's head of economic regeneration, Alastair Cunn-ingham "Perhaps it will attract people who have been running a business in their back bedroom who don't have the capacity to grow at present or those who want to grow their turnover from £30,000 a year to £100,000 - this will enable them to try to grow their business."

The area's county councillor Mark Connolly, said: "I think it's disappointing the site has not made great progress. "We want the site to be developed, but we hope to see great things over the next few years."

Tidworth chamber of commerce chief David Wildman meanwhile hopes the new centre and business park will forge links with the new academy next door.

1:33pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

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