Environmental and engineering consultancy Wardell Armstrong International has officially taken possession of their newly renovated and extended office building on the Wheal Jane Earth Science Park.

 

An £1.8m project set out in May 2013 to revitalise Baldhu House, the former mine office building situated at the entrance to Wheal Jane, to enable high growth and specialised business WAI, to continue its growth in Cornwall.

Phil Newall, MD of Wardell Armstrong said: "We look forward to continued growth of staff numbers both in the new offices and our recently refurbished laboratory and minerals pilot test plant (also at Wheal Jane).

"Our commitment at Wheal Jane enables us to provide excellent consultancy services in the UK and throughout the world as a significant employer in Cornwall."

With offices in the UK, Russia and Kazakhstan, Wardell Armstrong says as the scale of mining and renewable work develops, the expanded office will give them the space needed to grow their team by ten new jobs by the end of 2015, joining their exisiting fifty-strong team at the site.

The Wheal Jane mine closed in 1992 but since 1999 the site has become home to a number of mining and minerals companies.

WAI have been tenants at the Earth Science Park for over seven years and will now benefit from the funding package put together by private owners and investors Brownfield Investments Ltd and the European Regional Development Fund.

Bernard Ballard, director of Brownfield Investments Ltd explained: "The 90s refurbished older buildings on site are now showing their age, we aim to upgrade the buildings to the latest environmental standards thanks to our joint investment with ERDF. The Baldhu building has been a real game changer for Wheal Jane as we continue to attract earth science and environmental businesses to the site."

At the official opening Russell Dodge MD of Business Location Services said: "The Baldhu building showcases what lies ahead on the Wheal Jane site as it continues its transformation into an environmental work hub.

"Being able to refurbish a tired mining building rather than just build from scratch demonstrates the ethos of Wheal Jane’s owners to invest time and money into creating environmentally friendly new workspaces from existing infrastructure."

Chris Pomfret, Chair of the LEP and Deputy Chair of the Convergence Local Management Committee, which steers the Convergence programme said: ‘The Wheal Jane site is one of those hidden gems in the Cornish business world whose influence and quality we cannot underestimate.

"I have been visiting Wheal Jane since the start of the Baldhu build, now with the opening of this great new building it demonstrates the commitment by the private sector to invest and stay within our region in a very specialised sector.’