Scores of jobs on the horizon as Staffordshire business park triples in size

Dunston Business Village in Penkridge has been boosted by £2.5 million funding.

Bosses have built 18 log cabins there and 50,000 sq ft of new office space is being added.

Nine units have all been pre-let and there is also a waiting list of firms that want to move in.

Money has come from the Growing Places fund, run by the Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

But local residents have raised concerns about the development, saying the rural location could not cope with an influx of vehicles.

Managing director Adrian McLaughlin said: "I wanted to create an environment where businesses wanted to be and where people wanted to work.

"Most of our businesses employ between one and 60 people and the feedback I receive is how they all enjoy spending their working day here and that Staffordshire is a great location.

"Without the Growing Places fund, we would not have been able to meet the high demand for our office space, within a reasonable time.

"It has enabled us to expand at a much quicker rate, which in turn has allowed our clients to expand and take on more employees.

"The fund has been a great success for our business and has certainly made a dramatic difference to our ability to meet demand."

Penkridge Parish Council originally objected to the plans, calling them a 'massive overdevelopment' which would encroach on farmland.

But council chairman Calvert Stonehouse said: "The council was consulted and raised concerns but the site has been developed in accordance with the permission that was granted."

The site was originally going to be developed for seven luxury houses until Penkridge entrepreneur Adrian MacLaughlin stepped in and convinced South Staffordshire District Council to turn it into employment land.

The site includes eight restored old farm buildings, dating back to the 1800s.

There were also originally plans to turn the remainder of the 25-acre site into a nature reserve and park, with extensive landscaping, including copses of trees and small ponds and a lake.

Staffordshire Enterprise Partnership chairman David Frost said: "The Growing Places Fund is making a real difference to Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire – it has enabled development which has brought in business and created jobs. We have seen seventeen projects get off the ground which is considerable in the short space of time since the fund was launched.

"Dunston Business Village is a prime example of how the fund can work. We know Staffordshire is an area to do business and attract the very best and we can see it here at Dunston. It has attracted small businesses from across the UK which is a real achievement. We are pleased to see it expand and establish itself as a thriving economic hub. Supporting business success and job creation is what the LEP is all about."