BUILDING work at the £150million Langage Energy Park is likely to start in 2011, developers have said.

When completed, the long-awaited scheme is expected to provide 5,000 jobs – 12 per cent of Plymouth's target of creating 42,000 new jobs by 2026.

James Wilson, SWRDA's operations manager for Plymouth, Devon, Somerset and Torbay said the energy park was "key to delivering Plymouth's ambitions."

Along with the Exeter's science park and Skypark developments, the team behind the energy park say it will be one of the largest – and most significant – developments south of Bristol.

Like its neighbouring power station, the energy park was granted outline planning permission in 2001 but, unlike the power station which has rapidly taken shape in the past three years and will soon be supplying the National Grid with around 885 megawatts of electricity, less has been heard about the energy park.

Apart from a prolonged and well-documented war of words with South West Devon MP Gary Streeter, the energy park has been low-profile and seems, on the face of it, to have made slow progress.

In fact, say the developers behind the scheme Langage Energy Park Ltd – a subsidiary of Carlton Power, which came up with the initial concept of the power station and energy park – there was little that could happen until the power station was ready because much of the infrastructure needed for the energy park was only put in as the power station took shape.

Behind the picturesque Devon hedgerows, preparatory work for the energy park is well under way – some of it visible and some less so.

Spoil from the £400million gas fired power station has been used to create several large, flat areas that will in future house business units.

Plymouth-based Magily has been retained for the last three years to oversee the initial site clearance and pre-infrastructure works.

Negotiations are now going on with the Highways Agency about access to the site and with a nearby landowner about buying an 11 hectare tranche of land.

And, having given Mr Streeter and other politicians a tour of the site, the MP is now on side to the extent of providing a statement of endorsement for the energy park's soon-to-be-live marketing website.

Driving round the site, it is apparent that when complete, it will be a sizeable business centre.

"People don't realise the scale of the development," said David Bee, who is project managing the development of the park for Langage Energy Park.

Both SWRDA and the developers are keen to stress that the energy park will not be completed in anything like the timescale of the power station.

A detailed planning application for a development of 40,000sq m is likely to be submitted in late 2010, with building work starting on site in 2011.

It is anticipated that this first phase would create just over 1,400 new jobs. It would act as a gateway to the energy park with high quality, low carbon buildings that would set the tone for the remainder of the park.

It is likely to take up to 15 years before the scheme is completed.

"This is going to be a three, five, 10 or 15 year timeframe. It's going to be years rather than months," said Mr Wilson.

Some road access to the energy park has been provided by the infrastructure to the power station while options for improved access from the A38 is currently being considered by the Highways Agency.

And renovation work has now been completed on the listed buildings at Lower Langage at a cost of £1.5million.

For the South West Regional Development Agency, the energy park is a significant part of the strategic Eastern Corridor which encompasses the new town at Sherford and the Plymstock Quarry housing development.

"This is going to deal with the growth of Plymouth's economy on the eastern side of the city. There is no employment space on that side and it's about fulfilling the link between Langage, Sherford and Plymstock Quarry," said Mr Wilson.

So far, SWRDA has not put any money into the energy park but it is considering giving grant assistance in two or three years time, which would last for a period of between 10 and 15 years.

At the moment, the former farm buildings are serving as a fledgling marketing suite but, when development of the park is more advanced, they will be turned into an amenity area with a hotel, restaurant and conference centre to service what would otherwise be an isolated site.

When it was first put forward, the energy park was 26 hectares but, since then the developers have revised their plans to increase its size to 50 hectares.

A masterplan for the site is currently being worked on.

One key issue that will need to be resolved is access from the A38.

The Highways Agency is currently debating two options. One would involve further improvements to the Deep Lane junction that would see two additional bridges being built across the busy carriageway while the other would see a new junction being built at Voss Lane.

With anticipated cuts to public sector spending, this could take some time to resolve.

A further issue which Langage Energy Park Ltd is currently working on is securing ownership of the only part of the site they do not currently own – 11 hectares which is belong to a nearby farmer.

This tranche of land will be crucial to the development of the park as it would link it to the existing Langage Industrial Park to create a public transport access point.

The firm is still hoping to negotiate a sale but, if this fails, South Hams District Council has resolved to acquire the land by Compulsory Purchase Order.

Like any large scale development at the moment, the energy park has been affected by the recession.

Marketing of the site is just beginning to gear up and although there have been some enquiries, the commercial property market remains sluggish with many firms opting to sit tight and wait for economic growth to return before making a move.

Most of the firms to have contacted the site's agents so far are already based in Devon and are looking to move into a larger unit rather than inward investors from outside the region.

"The ideal would be inward investment but, at the moment no large companies are looking to relocate. Most of the enquiries we are getting tend to be from people who have outgrown their existing sites in Plymouth or elsewhere in Devon and want to increase to a bigger size," said Mr Bee.

The downturn – and the continued decline in manufacturing – has also prompted the developers to reconsider the mix of different types of businesses that the site will house.

Originally, the site was earmarked primarily for manufacturing, but now a 25 per cent element of warehousing and distribution space has been introduced.

Ten per cent of the remainder will be amenities such as a hotel, restaurant and a few shops with the remainder a mix of office space and manufacturing.

While the recession has seen many developments come to a complete halt, Mr Bee said that Langage Energy Park's owners Carlton Power had sufficient resources to keep things ticking over because they had a portfolio of business interests including a stake in a power station in Manchester.

"The majority of its income comes from the power industry – it has got resources. The recession has not hit our ability to move forward although it has hit demand.

"What we're trying to do is to move forward with the infrastructure and planning work to get the site ready for when the demand is there," said Mr Bee.

As well as plenty of space and views to Dartmoor on one side and the rolling Devon countryside on the other, one of the main draws for companies to move to the site will be the availability of cheap power. An agreement with power station owner Centrica states that occupiers of the first 50,000sq m of the energy park will benefit from gas and electricity at five per cent below wholesale price.

With power prices likely to continue their upward trajectory, it sounds like a good proposition but with the manufacturing sector continuing to struggle, will this be enough to secure good, long-term tenants?

The answer, according to SWRDA is that it will, if there is a focus on attracting high end, value-added manufacturers.

Mr Wilson said he was also keen to position the development as a base for low carbon companies to tie in with the South West's status as the UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area. SWRDA is currently working with Langage Energy Park Ltd on a development agreement for the site which is likely to be completed next spring or summer.