 | |
 P&G's offices on Cobalt Business Park | |
| Industry | Business park |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
| Website | cobaltpark |
Cobalt Park is a business park located in North Tyneside, England. It is one of the largest business parks in the United Kingdom. [1] [2]
Initially known as Hadrian Business Park [lower-alpha 1] plans for the area were devised the early 1990s [3] by the Tyne and Wear Economic Development Company. [4] Work began on building Cobalt Park in 1996 when the site was purchased and it was initially to house businesses employing 5,000 people [5] on a site of 140 acres (57 ha). [6] Part of the development was made a designated Enterprise Zone in 1995. [7] The region had previously been noted for its large mining industry and because of this the development had to secure 5 disused mine shafts that ran through the site. [4] In 1997 Highbridge Business Park Limited (a joint venture between Highbridge Properties and Ashall Group) became developers of the park and the development took on its Cobalt name. [4]
In 1998 construction of the first building, Cobalt 3, commenced and was completed in 1999. [4] Over the following years more buildings were added. [4] Additional expansion land was acquired in 2002 and 2007. [6] The development consists of more than 29 buildings. [5] As of 2016 more than 14,000 people are employed on the business park. [5]
The CBX building was formerly part of a £1.1 billion Siemens Semiconductors factory that had been built in 1995/6 [8] and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1997. [9] Siemens closed the plant in 1998, and spun off their Semiconductor business to Infineon Technologies in 1999. [lower-alpha 2] [10] The fabrication facility was transferred to Atmel in 2000 who restarted production at the site. [11] After Atmel decided to reorganise their global factories, their 8-inch wafer fabrication equipment was sold to TSMC and the North Tyneside site itself was sold to the owners of Cobalt in 2007. [12] A number of the buildings attached to the original semiconductors factory have since been demolished and replaced with office and data centre buildings, thus expanding the Cobalt Park site. [13]
As part of the development a country park of 44 acres (18 ha), Silverlink Biodiversity Park, was created on site and declared a nature reserve in 2005. [14] It had been built on the site of a former rubbish tip. [14]
Newcastle Building Society, [15] North Tyneside Council [16] and the Sage Group [17] have their headquarters on the site. Newcastle Building Society had used office space at Cobalt since 2008 [18] before moving out of their previous headquarters in Portland House in Newcastle City Centre in 2021. [15] North Tyneside Council moved their headquarters to Cobalt from Wallsend Town Hall in 2008. [19] Sage Group moved their headquarters from Newcastle Great Park in 2021. [20]
Other businesses located on the park include Accenture, DNV, DXC Technology, EE, IBM, NHS, Leeds Building Society, Procter & Gamble, Santander and Siemens Gamesa. [21] Previous tenants have also included Balfour Beatty, Barnardo's, Formica, G4S and Utilitywise. [22] Retail tenants also include Aston Martin, Busy Bees Nurseries, Greggs, Jaguar Land Rover and Tesco. [23] The site also has its own data centres, [24] gyms, [25] hotels [26] (Travelodge and Village Hotel Club) and hospital. [27]
The business park is located adjacent to the North Tyneside Steam Railway and Silverlink Retail Park. The business park is served by numerous bus routes and the nearby Northumberland Park Metro station. [28] It is located near to the A19 and A1058 roads and is bordered on one side by a former 19th-century waggonway that is now used as a cycle path. [29]
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.
Tyne and Wear is a ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England.
North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.
MetroCentre is a shopping centre and entertainment complex in the Dunston area of Gateshead. It is located on the former site of Dunston Power Station, near to the River Tyne.
North Shields is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
The North Tyneside Steam Railway and Stephenson Steam Railway are visitor attractions in North Shields, North East England. The museum and railway workshops share a building on Middle Engine Lane adjacent to the Silverlink Retail Park. The railway is a standard gauge line, running south for 2 miles (3.2 km) from the museum to Percy Main. The railway is operated by the North Tyneside Steam Railway Association (NTSRA). The museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums on behalf of North Tyneside Council.
Eldon Square is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1976 and was built on the site of Old Eldon Square, a famous part of Georgian Newcastle designed by John Dobson in about 1824. This redevelopment, which left only the eastern terrace standing, has been criticised, with one writer calling it "the greatest single example of architectural vandalism in Britain since the war".
Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Originally a high street chain, it has since entered the convenience and drive-thru markets.
Gosforth is an affluent suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It constituted a separate urban district of Northumberland from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a population of 23,620.
Shiremoor is a village in Tyne and Wear, Northern England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside and formerly governed under Northumberland. In the 2011 census, it was included in the Tynemouth area of Tyneside. It is near the North East Green Belt, which surrounds Tyneside, Wearside and Durham. It is located around 3+1⁄2 miles from Whitley Bay.
The A1058, known locally as the Coast Road, is a major road in Newcastle upon Tyne and the adjoining borough of North Tyneside in the North East. It runs from the Newcastle Central Motorway to the coast, terminating between Whitley Bay and Tynemouth. From west to east it connects Newcastle city centre with Jesmond, Heaton, Wallsend, Battle Hill, Howdon, Meadow Well, North Shields, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth. The road has existed since December 1924, when it was opened by then-transport minister Wilfrid Ashley.
Axwell House is a mansion house and Grade II* listed building, at Axwell Park, Blaydon, Tyne and Wear, England.
West Allotment is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside. Prior to 1974 it was part of Northumberland. It is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) inland of Whitley Bay and approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of The Tyne Tunnel. A mile or so north of West Allotment, the extensive built-up areas of North Tyneside change abruptly into green belt stretching north into south east Northumberland.
Quorum Business Park is an office development located in North Tyneside, North East England.
Newcastle Great Park is a new suburb in the north of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Much of Newcastle Great Park is still under development and is sandwiched in between older areas of Newcastle, namely Gosforth, Fawdon and Kingston Park to the south, and Hazlerigg to the north. Newcastle Great Park is the largest housing development in the North East of England.
North Tyneside Council is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is one of five such councils in Tyne and Wear, and one of 36 in England. It provides the majority of local government services in North Tyneside.
South Tyneside Council is the local authority of for the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is one of five metropolitan boroughs in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in England. It provides the majority of local government services in South Tyneside. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1979. It is based at South Shields Town Hall. The council is a constituent member of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.
Hadrian's Tower is a residential tower block in Newcastle upon Tyne. Located at 27 Rutherford Street, construction started in 2018 and was completed in September 2020.
The Silverlink Shopping Park is a retail park in North Tyneside, England containing more than 20 stores with retail accommodation of 208,000 square feet (19,300 m2). It was developed by the Crown Estate, has 927 car parking spaces, and has an annual footfall of 7.2 million.
the still undeveloped Hadrian Business Park
