The newly refurbished business units at the Festival Park site in Ebbw Vale have been listed as for let on the Knight Frank website. 

The units are described as available on the new Full Repairing and Insuring Lease in a brochure on the Knight Frank website.

The EPC and rateable value are to be assessed upon completion of the refurbishment. 

There will be an estate service to cover costs incurred in maintaining the common areas of the estate.  

“Blaenau Gwent are able to offer financial assistance to ingoing occupiers, subject to meeting certain criteria,” said Knight Frank, in the brochure.  

The units will have the following features:  

  • Three phase power 

  • Minimum eaves height of 3.5m 

  • Level access door 

  • Separate pedestrian access 

  • Kitchen and WC facilities 

  • LED lighting 

  • Allocated parking 

What happened to the Festival Park in Ebbw Vale?

In June 2024, the redevelopment of the Festival Park site in Ebbw Vale into a mix-use business centre began.  

The former shopping centre has been unused for several years, but the redevelopment hoped to give it a new purpose by the summer. 

The redevelopment involved the following changes: 

  • Modification of existing units. 

  • Removal of their canopies. 

  • Dismantling of units to make space for parks, roads, and paths. 

  • Resurfacing of the central mall walkway to create a spine access road. 

Mercia Real Estate, who took over the unoccupied site in 2021, was granted planning permission earlier this year for the redevelopment.   

The company appointed Cardiff office of global property consultant, Knight Frank, to try and attract tenants to the finished centre.  

Mr Neil Francis, head of Knight Frank’s industrial & logistics division in Wales, said: “The imaginative redevelopment of the Festival Park site, coupled with a willingness by the owners to be able to agree leases within a matter of weeks, will be an attractive proposition to local and national businesses.”  

Mr Samuel Clark, chief executive officer of Mercia Real Estate, said: “We are confident that the much-needed redevelopment of Festival Park will be an attractive proposition to new and existing businesses, and will provide a range of unit sizes to enable successful small businesses to expand over time without ever needing to leave the site to find larger premises.” 

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What is the history of the Festival Park site?

The festival park first opened over two decades ago in 1992 and homed several shops. 

The shops included but were not limited to a Marks and Spencer's outlet, Thorntons, Poundland, Sports Direct, GAP, Nike store. 

It also previously had a Costa, Cafè Nero and burger van right by the entrance.  

The Festival Park site was created as part of a 1980s Government initiative in response of the decline of heavy industry.  

The Ebbw Vale steelworks closed in 2002 and when the Festival Park site first opened it had celebrity visits.  

This included Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Emanuel, who designed Princess Diana's wedding dress and Rob Brydon.