CONSTRUCTION of a new Bradford business park which is set to create around 100 jobs will start within a couple of weeks after the scheme was given the green light by council planners.

Eight business units totalling 40,000 sq ft are to be built at the Newhall Business Park by Bradford developer Frank Marshall Estates which has received full planning permission for the scheme - which to firms said would be the first speculative industrial development in Bradford since the recession.

Marshall bought the five-acre site, part of Prologis Park near the M606 from Prologis earlier this year. The development will be built by Bradford-based construction firm Percy Pickard Contractors.

Frank Marshall Estates is run by Edward and Jimmy Marshall and owns significant commercial assets in Yorkshire.

Edward Marshall said: “Now our planning application has been successful, we will be starting work on site within the next couple of weeks. We are planning to build eight self-contained, high-quality units, ideal for businesses requiring small units."

Marshall will also move its headquarters from the nearby Link 606 Office Park, into the Grade II listed former West Bowling Golf Club club house. The building is being refurbished and split into two wings -with 2,400 sq ft of space for a second occupier. .

Jimmy Marshall said: “As the economy picks up after some difficult years, a number of smaller to medium-sized businesses are feeling more confident and are looking to consolidate and expand. "We believe our new business units, which will be ready for occupation in 2016, will satisfy this pent-up demand. Ultimately we hope to create 100 sustainable and quality jobs here.”

Marshall recently leased a 74,000 sq ft warehouse at Uppercroft Mills in Bowling Back Lane to haulier Peckover Transport in the biggest commercial property letting .in Bradford so far this year.

Edward Marshall, said the "a very significant deal" underlined both the attraction of Uppercroft Mills as a modern industrial park and the buoyancy of the local logistics and distribution sector.

Richard Clayton, managing director of Peckover Transport, said: “This is the next step in our expansion plans. Over the last couple of years, due to our policy of giving customers exactly what they want, our transport and haulage operation has nearly doubled in size.”

Jonathan O’Connor, at property consultancy Walker Singleton, added: “We have seen a huge surge in demand for industrial premises over the past 12 months and a letting of this magnitude to such a well-established Bradford business is a real boost for the city and the biggest letting for Bradford this year."