Dainton Self Storage is among several businesses that have purchased land at a former utility site in Gloucester, England, with the intent to develop the 20-acre area for commercial use. The site was home to the Hempstead Gasworks beginning in the 1860s and housed several buildings serving the National Grid, the United Kingdom’s electric power transmission network, but was decommissioned in the 1970s, according to the source.

The utility company has spent about £6 million to clear the area since 2011 and recently sold several plots for around £2.4 million, the source reported. The last of the National Grid buildings were recently approved for demolition by the Gloucester City Council. The former gas utility was one of the largest in the U.K. and was used as an experimental site to test different methods of gas production. The final 4 acres will go through 12 to 18 months of remediation to decontaminate the land.

"The National Grid was a major employer over the years, and many people in the area will have worked or known somebody who worked there," council member Chris Chatterton told the source. "They have had issues with the contaminated land over the years, and it could not be used for housing; so this is exactly what we want to see, industrial land brought back into use."

Other companies that have purchased plots at the Bristol Road site include AMS Auctions, Bristol Street Motors, Motorhog scrapyard and Utility Co., according to the source.

Established in 2002 by Paul Maddicott, Dainton Self Storage is the operating brand for self-storage and moving specialist Dainton Group Services. Based in Newton Abby, England, the company operates 13 self-storage facilities, primarily in Southwest England. The group also includes Dainton Portable Buildings and Dainton Removals.

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