Towngate Breathe Life Into Walkden
Towngate Business Centre on Manchester Road in Walkden, has bucked the trend in the current economic climate with a number of successful lettings, bringing and retaining much needed jobs into the local area.
PJH Group Limited have taken a lease of Unit Two, a 60,000 sq ft warehouse and the estate is now almost fully let with the occupiers including Balfour Beattie, SWD Clothing Exports, Roegreen Transport and Tony Hill Transport Limited.
Towngate Plc are reporting strong interest in the last remaining unit of 4,851 sq ft, potential occupiers are encouraged to contact the marketing manager, Julia Ford on 01484 715635 without delay.
The Towngate Business Centre was formerly Walkden's lucozade factory, steeped in history with some of the original buildings still standing. The factory employed generations of families from the 1950s to 1993 when its doors were finally closed. The local workforce had shown extraordinary loyalty to the company and the site had been one of the best performing for Lucozade and then subsequently, Beechams Pharmeceuticals, Beecham Smith Kline and Glaxo Smith Kline who during the latter years had taken over the Lucozade brand.
The factory at Little Hulton was the last drinks manufacturing plant to be closed down as it was one of the more efficient and adaptable factories, which was in the main, due to the loyalty and adaptability of its workforce.
Peter Smith, former Assistant Factory Engineer joined the workforce in 1977 and remembers the factory in its hey day. He now Chairs the Lucozade ex employees association and organises regular meetings and get togethers to talk over old times.
Towngate purchased the site in 1996 and extensively refurbished it to create individual industrial units to let. The present day Unit 1 is the site of the manufacturing plant, built in 1955, although there was a fire in 1977 which resulted in part of the property being rebuilt. The present day Unit 2 was built in 1974. The present day Unit 3 was built to maintain Lucozade's lorry fleet and still contains two inspection pits and a lorry washing area. This unit was built in the 1960s'.