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Breckland Council and The Crown Estate have celebrated securing final funding of a £1.5 million grant from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) for the development of the Thetford Enterprise Park or TEP, a major quality 44 acre business park on the A11 at Thetford. The celebration event held on the designated site was attended by a range of local partners, business leaders and Council members. The funding completes the £5 million investment already made by the Council and The Crown Estate required to allow the £6.5 million project to proceed and provide the infrastructure for the business park, which could provide up to 1,000 new jobs and safeguarded others in the area. The funding is crucial to undertake access and servicing works for the site to facilitate and attract further private sector investment.


Thetford Enterprise Park came forward as part of the Council’s Rev business support project based in Thetford. Despite the current national economic downturn, considerable interest is already building from potential occupiers. The first investment of £8 million is to be made by Century Logistics which plans to start construction of its new 150,000 square feet flagship building this year following the receipt of planning consent.

The Thetford site had been designated in the Local Plan for employment use for over a decade but was of no interest to private developers due to the prohibitive access and servicing costs.

Council Leader William Nunn said “The Council and our joint project partners The Crown Estate have been working tirelessly on this project for a number of years. Without such innovative public intervention and leadership of this kind challenging sites of this nature would not come forward for investment. The Park will be a key first step in supporting the planned future housing and population growth in Thetford by creating quality employment and investment in the local economy. This project will allow our existing businesses to grow and attract new employers to the area”.

Steve Cox, Executive Director for Strategy and Development at EEDA, said “EEDA is providing further support for the advanced engineering and manufacturing base in Norfolk by investing in projects such as the Thetford Enterprise Park. This engineering “corridor” - with Thetford Enterprise Park at one end and Hethel Engineering Centre at the other - will boost the economy of the county and the region attracting businesses and create jobs.”

Nick Harper, Head of Regional Development at The Crown Estate, said “We are delighted to be working with Breckland Council on this important project. It is a good example of the way that The Crown Estate works with local stakeholders to bring forward development for the benefit of the community on its landholdings across the country”.

Mark Stanton, Breckland’s Head of Economic Development and project lead, said “With development plans at Snetterton Race Circuit and Hethel Engineering Centre, which will coincide with the delivery of Thetford’s largest non retail park in the last 40 years, the A11 is fast becoming one of the hottest investment areas for ambitious engineering and motorsport companies in the UK”.

TEP will have sustainability and low carbon principles embedded into its DNA and will kick start the development of Thetford and the A11 corridor forming the business gateway to Norfolk.

Contact: Mark Stanton, Tel: 07748116933 or email mark.stanton@breckland.gov.uk

A project to create one of the largest high quality business parks in Norfolk has received £1.5 m worth of key funding from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).

Breckland Council and Crown Estate have secured funding of £1.5 million from EEDA for the creation of Thetford Enterprise Park, a major 44 acre business park on the A11 at Thetford.

The £1.5m from EEDA is in addition to the investment already committed by the council and Crown Estate, which is required for the multi-million pound project to go ahead and will lead to the creation and safeguarding of around 1,000 jobs in the area. The funding will enable crucial access and servicing works for the site and will promote further private sector investment in buildings and construction and commercial space in the vicinity. The total future investment is likely to be in the region of £100 million and the business park is seeking to attract advanced manufacturing and engineering businesses to the area.

Thetford Enterprise Park is part of the Council’s Rural Enterprise Valley (Rev Project) based in Thetford. Considerable interest is already building from potential occupiers, leading to the potential for a top-notch hotel on the site and construction could start as early as this autumn.

Council Leader William Nunn said, “Breckland Council and our joint project partner, The Crown Estate, have been working tirelessly on this project for a number of years, public intervention and leadership is essential to the success of challenging projects of this kind. We welcome EEDA’ s announcement of major funding today. It will mean new jobs and prosperity for the whole of Norfolk and the East of England and will bolster the county’s reputation as a centre of innovation and high- tech engineering. The Thetford Enterprise Park will also be crucial in supporting the planned future housing and population growth in Breckland by creating quality employment and investment in the local economy.”

Steve Cox, Executive Director for Strategy and Development at EEDA, said:

“The Thetford Enterprise Park is one of a number of major investments by EEDA in Norfolk aimed at strengthening the advanced engineering and manufacturing base in the county. With The Thetford Enterprise Park at one end and the Hethel Engineering Centre at the other, this engineering “corridor” will attract businesses, create jobs and boost the economy of the county and the region.”

Nick Harper,Head of Rural Asset Management and Development at the Crown Estate, said,

“We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Breckland Council and now EEDA to deliver this innovative project. The funding announced today means that it can go ahead – securing jobs and the area’s economic vitality.”

Thetford Enterprise Park represents the largest new business development for the town in recent decades and is likely to be the catalyst for further planned growth and development along the A11 corridor from Thetford to Norwich.