A Cumbrian firm has joined forces with a businessman to create a new Penrith business park.

Jonathan Willan, of Willan Homes and Developments and James Lund, who used to own Penrith Building Supplies, hope the first tenants will move in next month.

They bought the site, the former Lloyds Agriculture base on Myers Lane, in June.

James said: “We had approaches to develop it as a single site, but we really felt they weren’t the right fit for that area or the site.

“It took us a while to work out exactly what we were going to do, but as a former local business owner and being born and bred in Penrith – so I know a lot of people – we knew there was a need for a development which would cater for small, independent businesses.”

Jonathan added: “There is a real demand for it in Penrith and the location of the site lends itself to it too.

“The site is versatile, with room for everything from industrial units to offices.”

They have created a new firm to manage the site. Peter said it was an easy decision to make to go into business with Willan Homes.

He sold Penrith Business Supplies around 18 months ago and took some time out. He said opportunities had arisen for him to re-enter the business world since then, but this partnership was the perfect choice.

He added: “We’ve known each other a long time and it just seemed like it was the right opportunity.

“We’re all entrepreneurs and I just had a gut feeling about this project. “

Jonathan’s family firm has construction expertise, as it builds high-quality housing developments across Cumbria.

Jonathan added: “We are still building houses, but thought we could diversify. We know there is a need for this. We hadn’t even made it public knowledge and people were approaching us to see if they could lease a unit.

“If this goes well, we may well look at other sites in Penrith and perhaps the rest of the county – it depends.”

James said: “What’s great is that this site can accommodate different types of business. We’ve had approaches from industrial to leisure and can’t wait to welcome the first tenants.”