New £45M home for Oregon Timber at Infinity Park

Infinity Park Derby LLP has reached practical completion on a new 186,000 sq ft state-of- the-art production facility at Infinity Park Derby for Oregon Timber Frame (Oregon), one of the country's largest timber frame companies.

Located off Junction 3 of the A50, Infinity Park Derby comprises a 100-acre development targeting the manufacturing, advanced manufacturing and logistics sectors. The public-private partnership delivering the wider scheme includes: Derby City Council; University of Derby; the D2N2 local enterprise partnership; Rolls-Royce; Harpur Crewe Estates and Developer consortium comprising Wilson Bowden Developments Limited and Peveril Securities. Oregon Timber Frame and Wilson Bowden are both part of Barratt Developments PLC, the UK's largest housebuilder.

Barratt purchased Oregon, one of the country's largest timber frame manufacturers, in 2019 to support a planned increase in the number of homes that it can build off-site, as part of its commitment to grow its business and become carbon neutral in its operations by 2030.

To expand the number of homes that Barratt can build using timber frame, Oregon will relocate this summer from its existing base in Burton-upon-Trent to a cutting-edge manufacturing facility. Barratt has invested £45 million into the factory and will create an additional 200 jobs.

Main contractor Bowmer & Kirkland delivered the new highly sustainable facility, which achieved a BREEAM "Very Good" and an EPC "A" rating. The scheme incorporates a wide range of energy-efficient features including photovoltaics, air source heat pumps and LED lighting. In addition, 10% of the car parking spaces benefit from Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points and EV ducting has been installed to the remainder of the car park and HGV parking bays to future proof the unit.

Bowmer & Kirkland also oversaw the installation of site-wide infrastructure features including the Western Flood Alleviation Area, extension of the road south of the I-Hub, which forms the cornerstone of Infinity Park and the the construction of a new footpath route adjacent to the new production facility.

Nick Richardson, MD at Wilson Bowdon Developments, said: "We are proud to have played a pivotal role in the development of Oregon's new production facility at Infinity Park and ultimately adding to Barratt's commitment to lead the future of housebuilding.

"The close proximity of a highly skilled labour force and Infinity Park's location being at the apex to the Golden Triangle, means it is a premier address for businesses and a perfect location for our sister company, Oregon."

Peter Wade, Joint MD at Oregon, added: "Infinity Park Derby will ultimately become our new base to support Barratt's move to modern methods of construction, and so it was imperative that the building's sustainable credentials were in line with those of our business. This new state-of-the-art facility will support our long-term goals to increase our use of modern methods of construction off-site and reduce our carbon footprint."

Councillor Steve Hassall, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Decarbonisation, Strategic Planning & Transport at Derby City Council, said:

"We are thrilled to see more companies choosing Derby for their home. Oregon is one of the largest timber frame manufacturers in the country, and their move to Infinity Park Derby is testament to our city's reputation as a national leader for innovation, manufacturing and logistics.

"With more design and build opportunities available, and more and more brands based here, we are looking forward to welcoming more businesses to Derby in the future."

Further design and build opportunities up to 507,270 sq ft are available.

Avison Young and Salloway are joint agents for Infinity Park Derby.