Plans to develop a charging station for electric vehicles in Abergavenny have moved forward following a land deal at the £9m Westgate site. Landowners Johnsey Estates has sold the last plot of land at the mixed-use development fronting the A465 Heads of the Valleys road has been sold to German infrastructure firm, Ionity.
Ionity plans to build and operate a high-power charging station for electric vehicles on the land. There will be 12 chargers with up to 350KW charging capacity for ultrafast charging, all of which will be powered by 100% renewable energy for carbon-neutral driving.
As a joint venture of car manufacturers BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes Benz, Volkwagen, Audi and Porsche, along with BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power Platform as financial investor, Ionity will start construction at the Westgate site as soon as planning consent is formalised.
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Johnsey Estates, the developer behind the overall scheme at Westgate, sold the first plot for development at Westgate to Persimmon Homes in 2014 for 43 units.This was followed by a plot sale for a Premier Inn with 61 bedrooms and an adjoining Brewers Fayre restaurant.
The first McDonald's drive-thru in Monmouthshire opened on the site in November 2016 with the creation of 65 jobs. In October 2017, Costa Coffee opened a drive-thru that was built by Cardiff construction company Carter Lauren on behalf of Johnsey Estates, which sold the building subsequently with the benefit of the lease to Costa Coffee to a third party private property investor.
Foxhunter Estates acquired plots for a 60 bedroom care home and 24 retirement bungalows, and Gwent Police were granted planning permission in October 2022 for construction work to start on the new Abergavenny Police Station at Westgate which is due to open during 2024.
Chief executive of Johnsey Estates James Crawford said: “Our landbank is strategically positioned throughout Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Newport within a portfolio that includes office, and industrial properties. Common to all is our commitment to leaving a lasting positive legacy in each location.
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“This landmark deal with Ionity brings to a close our work over the last eight year period to develop Westgate as a prime mixed use site. We have worked closely with Monmouthshire County Council to maximise the value of the land to the local economy and bring jobs to the area.
“We’ve also been very mindful of the need for good placemaking, particularly given that the land backs on to a World Heritage site and will incorporate access to the proposed new Velo Park.”
Johnsey Estates’ property portfolio includes Mamhilad Park Estate in Pontypool, a business park offering over 300,000 sq ft of office space and 1,150,000 sq ft of industrial space including the former Nylon Spinners complex.
Earlier this year, the business park attracted our new tenants in shipping agency TU Agencies (380 sq ft), Care & Repair Monmouthshire and Torfaen (665 sq ft), alongside Aquadrain which has taken 2,000 sq ft of industrial space and building materials supplier Sealant Systems expanding from its base in Newport with a 4,390 sq ft unit.