A COMPANY founded in Bradford in the 1940s has been given planning consent for a £1.7 million development that could create 50 new jobs.

Marrtree Investments, whose original headquarters were in Fagley, will build 19,000 sq ft of business units at the Thorpe Arch Trading Estate near Wetherby.

Construction of the scheme, which will be known as Marrtree Business Park @ Thorpe Arch Trading Estate, will get under way in spring this year and is due for completion by December.

Marrtree, founded by Frank Marshall in Bradford, is now run by his grandsons, brothers William and George Marshall.

The company’s original office was at Fagley Quarry on Harrogate Road and the business still has an office there, maintaining a 50 per cent stake in the Bradford quarrying businesses Hard York Quarries and Berry & Marshall. Between them, the two businesses run over 100 acres of quarries, across Fagley Quarry and Bolton Woods Quarry.

In 2012, Marrtree relocated the property arm of its business to Harrogate in order to nurture its growing role in the North East property sector, for which Harrogate was more centrally located.

Marrtree Investments also has a significant portfolio of investment property in Bradford, including industrial estates on Wakefield Road, the M606 and Euroway Trading Estate .

The company said its Thorpe Arch development was expected to create 50 new jobs and comprised seven separate units across two buildings.

Marrtree director William Marshall said: “Because it’s so easy to get to, and the units will be deliberately designed to offer maximum flexibility, it will mean the accommodation is well suited to a range of different types of business, from traditional manufacturing companies through to logistics firms, and a wide variety of occupiers in-between – much as we saw with our successful Knaresborough scheme. Thorpe Arch is gathering real momentum as an economic hub and has become the go-to location for more than 100 diverse businesses. We hope Marrtree Business Park, Thorpe Arch will now provide a further economic boost.”

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