1,000 Jobs To Come As Polestar Chooses Sheffield

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team May 20, 2004

The Polestar Group has announced its intention to build its new gravure printing facility in Sheffield.

The Polestar Group has announced its intention to build its new gravure printing facility in Sheffield.

The decision to locate in Sheffield remains subject to planning permission being granted by Sheffield City Council, but the group is confident that consent will be received in the coming weeks.

When complete the Polestar gravure facility will total approximately 700,000 square feet and will employ 1,000 people.

Polestar said it is no longer considering any other locations and is working, together with its development partner Gazeley and with public sector partners in South Yorkshire to secure the planning permission and funding package to take the project forward.

Commenting on the choice, Barry Hibbert, chief executive of the Polestar Group said: "The location of our new plant with access to the motorway network and the reputation of the workforce in the region had a big impact on our decision making process." Mike Young, Polestar's project director added: "We are grateful to Sheffield First for Investment, Sheffield City Council and Yorkshire Forward for their tremendous support over the last few weeks and we look forward to working closely with them to bring this development to fruition." Phil Roberts, the chief executive of Sheffield First for Investment, said: "We are absolutely delighted that Polestar has chosen Sheffield as the location for this major investment.

It will be one of the biggest and most significant investments in the city for years and we will be working with Polestar, Gazeley and our partners, including planners and funding providers, to deliver whatever is required." Nick Cook, the development manager for Gazeley, also commented on the local effects: "Polestar's decision to locate its latest gravure printing facility in Sheffield will provide a welcome boost to the local economy and deliver hundreds of much needed jobs to the area." Gazeley has submitted a planning application for development of the whole site to Sheffield City Council, and it said it envisages that permission will be granted shortly to enable progress.

Gazeley has commenced preparatory site clearance works this week in preparation for the development of the site once the planning and funding applications have been determined.