Cumbria’s only Enterprise Zone is much more than an industrial estate.

Kingmoor Park is a sprawling site in Carlisle – at 400 acres, one of the largest in the North West –and its management company is much more than a landlord.

Around 2,500 already work at the 200-plus businesses on the former Ministry of Defence site. The industrial estate celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and has a masterplan to develop for the next 15 years.

It has already started work on its £1.3 million ModVillage – made entirely of bespoke shipping containers – so it can attract smaller firms and start-ups to the site and its 3,000-panel solar park, which will help the site become more self-sufficient for energy, is almost complete.

But it is not all about the businesses on the site – which range from local firms like Clark Door and Cubby Construction to national depots for the likes of Hermes.

It is a strong supporter of the city, backs the Richard Rose Academies and Carlisle Youth Zone and is working on a skills programme to help introduce youngsters from local schools to the opportunities available to them on their doorstep.

Neil McIntyre, managing director of Kingmoor Park, says: “We have a strong ethos here to support Carlisle and add value to its offering. We offer courses for our tenants and are happy for them to break leases if they need to expand.

“We are not a traditional landlord in that sense, We want to help Carlisle grow.”

Neil has been in charge of Kingmoor Park for two years and is passionate about the city where he has lived for 17 years.

He believes the masterplan is deliverable and the park’s inclusion in the Department for International Trade’s global marketing portfolio will bring it to the attention of firms who may previously never considered Carlisle as a base.

He adds: “It’s actually easier for firms with no connection to the UK to think about Carlisle as a location, rather than someone already in the South East of England for example.”

Talks are under way with firms from Europe to take land at Kingmoor Park.

Neil says: “We’ve had a lot of foreign interest post-Brexit - as much as before.

“We’re also really excited by the ModVillage, which has had lots of enquiries and will attract smaller firms to the site and help build our community and we want to develop that.

“We are a small team here. There’s three directors and three full-time equivalent staff, and we work hard for our tenants.”