WORK has begun on the Quadrus Centre, a £5m office development in South Tyneside.

The development is at Boldon Business Park, overlooking the lake. The business centre is about to transform the gateway to the borough.

The infrastructure, including roads and drainage, is in place and work has started on the steel fabric of the building, which is expected to open next spring.

South Tyneside Council and Tedco (the Tyneside Economic Development Company), which will operate the building, joined forces to lead the development, which aims to attract office-based businesses to the region.

Councillor Paul Waggott, South Tyneside Borough Council leader, said: "People will get an idea of the full scale of the centre as the steelwork rises. As the first building seen when driving to the borough from the south on the A19, it will act as an important symbol of new enterprise and development opportunities available in the borough."

Councillor Eddie McAtom-iney, the council's lead member for corporate development, said: "The Quadrus Centre will be a world-class facility which will have considerable pull when we are looking to bring new and existing businesses to the borough.

"It is a vital part of the borough's regeneration plans and its iconic design and imposing position send out a message that South Tyneside is a thriving, prosperous place in which to do business."

The 30,000sq ft centre, just off the A19, will be a pair of linked cedar-clad cubes, each containing four floors of office accommodation poised over a plinth containing a reception and caf, as well as information and meeting spaces.

With 20,000sq feet of lettable office space in 46 office units, the development is expected to create or safeguard more than 150 jobs in the first two years of operation, with ten businesses being created each year.

As well as catering for existing small businesses, the business centre will provide an incubation service for business start-ups, with intensive support.

The support will enable new companies to graduate from the incubator and move to larger premises in the area.

Doug Scott, Tedco chief executive, said: "Quality office space available for entrepreneurs and existing small businesses in South Tyneside is in extremely short supply and some businesses and entrepreneurs are leaving the borough to set up elsewhere.

"One of the aims of the new facility is to stem the flow of talent out of the borough and provide a base for new high-growth businesses."

Published: ??/??/2004