Guests have been given a sneak preview of West Cumbria’s newest commercial premises at the former flaxworks at Cleator Mills.
Leading project management and engineering company React Engineering will move to a new headquarters at the site in January.
The company invited around 60 clients, partners and other stakeholders to an event to showcase progress at the site, which is being refurbished by Cumbrian developer Genr8 North.
React, whose expert team support major nuclear decommissioning projects across the UK, currently has 60 staff based at Cleator Moor and a satellite office in Warrington.
Managing director Phil Redfern said the move to the Cleator Flaxworks will play an important part in securing the company’s long-term future in West Cumbria.
“Our new home will provide a base for us to continue to grow as we pursue our mission to be the leading decommissioning engineering and project management business in the UK,” he said.
“We also hope it will provide a location for other businesses to take root and develop, with all the benefits that brings to the community.
“Everyone who attended the event has played a part in the success of React over the last 30 years and we want to continue paying that back, not just by delivering excellence across the sectors we serve, but also having a positive impact for our staff and local people.”
The Cleator Mills site was originally built as a flax mill in 1830 and subsequently became the factory for hat maker Kangol, which went on to become one of Cumbria’s best-known fashion brands.
However, it fell into disrepair after the company closed in 2009.
Genr8 North, based in Carlisle, has been redeveloping the site into open plan offices, with views onto the western fells and access to walks beside the River Ehen.
React will be joined in the new premises by specialist project management consultancy Prima Uno, led by Sarah Purdham, and quantity surveying HR specialist Clear North.
It will include a cafe operated by TEG Retail and open to the public in the new year.
“As someone who was born and grew up in West Cumbria it has been a real pleasure to be able to give new life to a historic and iconic location,” said Mark Walker, director of Genr8 North.
“It is a source of deep pride to everyone who has worked on the project to see it being given such a bright future with a growing and ambitious company like React as an anchor tenant, providing a long-lasting and beneficial legacy for West Cumbria.”
Students from the Manchester School of Architecture have also been working on the project as part of their studies, helping to overcome some key challenges along the way.
Dr Richard Morton, senior lecturer at Manchester School of Architecture, said: “This project has been a fantastic learning opportunity for our students and it is really exciting to see a once-derelict building being given a second chance.”
