Link Road Attracts Office Relocations
The Bexhill Enterprise Park, developed by Sea Change Sussex with public funds on a greenfield site as a business spin-off from the Hastings-Bexhill link road across Combe Valley, has welcomed two new tenants to its flagship office building, High Weald House.
One, Cultura, is a major commercial landscape contractor involved in projects over the breadth of southern England from Bristol to Kent, including current works at Valley Gardens in Brighton and Chelsea Island Roof Garden in London. It will use its new space there to “better accommodate our support teams and will allow for a more inclusive working environment, as well as helping us drive innovation and expansion into new markets”, according to its CEO Phil Jones.
High Weald House
PICTURE: Sea Change Sussex
The other incoming tenant, due to move last weekend, is medico-legal firm Expert In Mind, who provide psychology and psychiatry expert reports for forensic use.
They join another medical support firm Brain Injury Services Limited, offering programmes and assessments in cases of brain injury, which took a lease of the ground floor of the building last October.
“Long-term jobs”
The Park is part of a programme outlined by Sea Change Sussex on its promotional website “to create a major new business and residential community to the north-east of Bexhill. This is designed to provide long-term jobs and homes to accommodate population expansion in the Hastings and Bexhill area.”
All well and good for the local economy of Hastings, St Leonards and Bexhill, the improvement of which is the objective of Sea Change Sussex (full company name: East Sussex Energy Infrastructure and Development Limited) – except that all three firms are relocating to High Weald House from town centre office space already within its remit.
Cultura’s previous office was at Ocean House in London Road, St Leonards, the unlovely 12-storey brick block which towers over Warrior Square Station. It has vacated the floor which it occupied there at the conclusion of its lease without any apparent successor taking its place. And it seems improbable that the move was simply for purposes of expansion, since Ocean House already had two floors vacant – around 9,000 square feet.
Expert In Mind is relocating from Sedlescombe Road South. Brain Injury Services previously had offices in Battle High Street. So how many new jobs is that?
Transport links
Sea Change Sussex quotes Mr Jones of Cultura further on its website: “This move represents another significant milestone for our business. We chose High Weald House because of the glorious views over the East Sussex countryside, coupled with its great transport links, affording ease of travel for both our local staff and those from further afield.”
Which is eloquent testimony to the priorities of modern enterprises, regardless of supposed concerns for a greener economy served by public transport. Ocean House, in the centre of St Leonards, is a couple of minutes walk from Warrior Square railway station and passed constantly by local buses. High Weald House is the best part of two miles out of town from Bexhill station and is served by the 22A bus at half-hour intervals (day times only). The building boasts 115 parking spaces, however.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply