THE new owners of Chippenham's largest employment estate, Langley Park, have promised to bring extra jobs to the town.

Ashtenne Holdings plc, a property investment and active management specialist, has exchanged contracts with current owners the Skelton Group, for a price of £33.1 million.

Wayne Locke, Ashtenne's regional manager for the South West, said Langley Park would be a long-term investment and they hoped to bring new tenants, and new jobs, to the area.

"Chippenham offered all sorts of opportunities to improve the existing complex," he said.

"Langley Park has a lot of land under-utilised at the moment both rough land and car parking that could be reconfigured so we would like to undertake industrial redevelopment and increase employment levels.

"We would like to help existing tenants to expand as well."

Langley Park, formerly known as the Westinghouse estate, on Langley Road, covers 48 acres which currently generates £2.5 million of annual rental income from 815,000 sq ft of multi-let industrial and office space.

The rent roll is expected to rise to £2.6 million a year once agreed lettings have been completed.

In addition, North Wiltshire District Council has put together a development brief that includes provision for the redevelopment of around 17.25 acres of Langley Park into a mixed retail and residential scheme.

Ashtenne said substantial interest had already been expressed by developers, food retailers and housebuilders.

But any redevelopment would not come at the cost of employment on the site, Mr Locke said.

"There is quite a concentration of high value skills at Langley Park, research and development rather than swinging a hammer," he said.

"There is Westinghouse Rail Systems and Westcode, as well as the Strategic Health Authority. They have a specialist labour force. That will attract more occupiers, and we can undertake some development and attract new tenants.

"From the town's point of view that should be good."

Mr Locke said they had examined the development brief closely and could see opportunities to develop residential, retail and leisure use on the site.

But he said this was looking some three to five years down the line.

Mr Locke could not predict how many new jobs might come to Langley Park in the next few years but he said even taking into account the loss of Westinghouse Brakes, employment on the site was on the increase.

The Skelton Group owned the site for about three years and Mr Locke suggested they were planning to make Langley Park a longer term investment.

He said they had spoken to some of the tenants already and assured them of their best interests.

Coun Sandie Webb, leader of Chippenham Town Council, extended an invitation to the new owners of Langley Park to come and talk to members about their plans for the site.

She said she was disappointed with the Skelton Group for selling so soon.

"They told us they were looking at this as a long term project, not a short term profit," she said.

She said Langley Park was not currently used to its full potential and she hoped the new owners would work it.

However Coun Webb sounded a note of caution about the prospect of putting retail and leisure facilities on the bottom of the site. "It's got to be sympathetic to the town centre.

"We've got new development at the Pheasant already.

"If we have too much retail away from the town centre proper it will pull people away."

Murray Walker, president of the Chamber of Commerce said: "This site is of strategic importance to the development of Chippenham comprising around 50 acres of land situated on the north fringe of the town centre.

"The proposed mix use of residential, retail and business space will regenerate the area and provide opportunities.

"The Chamber will be looking at the new owner's plans in detail and will be encouraging early progress on the transformation of the site."