Redeveloped Chichester Industrial Estate Wins Prestigious Award

St James Industrial Estate in Chichester has been recognised as the ‘Best Non-residential New Build’ in the Local Authority Building Control (LABC)’s South East ‘Building Excellence Awards 2024.

The industrial estate, which is based in Westhampnett Road, Chichester, and which is owned and managed by Chichester District Council, reopened in March last year following a £6 million redevelopment. It offers 30 modern and sustainable industrial units for businesses to rent.

LABC represents all Local Authority building control services in England and Wales, and its annual Building Excellence Awards are the UK’s largest business-to-business awards in the sector.

Having won ‘Best Non-residential New Build’ in the region, the St James Industrial Estate now qualifies as a finalist for consideration in the national awards, which take place early 2025.

The site has also achieved the rating of ‘Very Good’ from the Building Research Establishment (BRE), which highlights the high level of sustainability of the buildings on the site.

This positive rating also acknowledges the council’s active approach to sustainability when planning and delivering the project and recognises it as an example of advanced best practice.

Cllr Adrian Moss, Leader of Chichester District Council, says:

“Helping local businesses and providing them with a high-quality space to grow and thrive is a key priority for us.

"The investment made into the redevelopment of the St James estate is a key part of this, and so it’s great to see the project recognised through this prestigious award.

“In 2023, we completed a £6m redevelopment of the estate — which was built on an old council depot site in the early 1980s — in order to bring the whole site into use and deliver the quality accommodation that businesses told us they wanted to see.

“The estate now includes a mix of 30 different sized units and 32 electric vehicle charging points, serving the estate and solar panels on every building, helping to reduce the estate’s carbon emissions."

People can find more information about the work that the council is doing to reduce its carbon footprint and to help others in the district to reduce their carbon footprint by visiting: www.chichester.gov.uk/climatechange