Investing

There are countless reasons to join more than 2,000 businesses who already call Melton home. Melton has a thriving SME community as well as major manufacturers and service organisations. Commercial operations of all scales range from international food and drink production, large distribution and logistics companies to rural artisans, knowledge-based entrepreneurs and successful innovators. We are proud that Melton is renowned nationwide as the Rural Capital of Food.

The vision for commercial success in Melton borough is shared by local businesses and underpinned by a clearly defined four-year strategy. This provides a practical focus for the Council in supporting six priority areas for the period 2020 to 2024. One is Delivery Sustainability and Inclusive Growth in Melton. What does that promise mean in real terms?

• • • To work with partners to promote Melton, delivering on the expectations that established Melton as the country’s Rural Capital of Food.
    • To support inclusive growth strategies by improving access to higher paid jobs, better skills and initiatives that tackle the low wage economy.
    • To regenerate our town centre, encourage inward investment and create new jobs.
    • To increase the housing supply by supporting private development and private landlords while deploying Council assets to build more homes.
    • We will take a pragmatic commercial approach in managing our assets to deliver homes, jobs and income.
    • To establish an affordable and sustainable future for our leisure facilities, commencing in 2022.
    • To support the delivery of the Melton bypass and any other infrastructure to enable growth.

Our key sectors

• • • Food & Drink Manufacturing.
    • Distribution & Logistics.
    • Leisure & Tourism.
    • Financial & Businesses Services.
    • Engineering Technologies.
    • Creative and Knowledge-Based Services.

Prominent companies & employers

• • • Arla Foods
    • Brobot Petroleum
    • KS Composites
    • Long Clawson Dairy
    • Mars UK
    • Samworth Brothers
    • Truframe
    • Ragdale Hall
    • Hallmark Consumer Services
    • Belvior Fruit Farms

Transport Links

Melton has great transport links that allow fast road and rail travel to major cities including Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Peterborough and London. Bus services through the Borough connect various villages to larger servicing settlements. 

North & East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road

The Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR) scheme, part funded through the Department for Transport (Local Large Majors Fund), is a major highway scheme located to the north and east of Melton Mowbray comprising a new single carriageway road. It extends from the A606 Nottingham Road to the A606 Burton Road, crossing Scalford Road, Melton Spinney Road, the A607 Thorpe Road and the B676 Saxby Road.

The £50 million scheme aims to:

• • • Improve access to potential housing and employment real estate both north and south of the town
    • Relieve traffic congestion within Melton Mowbray town
    • Improve access to Melton town centre
    • Reduce the number of HGV’s travelling through Melton town centre.

A key economic benefit is to connect around 5,000 homes and at least 31 hectares of employment space, equating to an estimated 22% growth for the local economy and delivering an additional £102 million on Gross Value Added (GVA) per annum. Wider scheme benefits include improving air quality, improving safety and providing a better town centre environment. Construction is due to commence in early 2022. (Map to be provided in due course).

Airports

Melton is just 15 miles from Nottingham City Airport and under 30 miles from East Midlands Airport, representing a 40-minute drive. Birmingham International Airport is approximately 54 miles distant, accessible via fast major roads.

Digital Connections

The digital revolution matters to Melton because digital change creates tangible opportunities for innovation and growth. In addition, effective digital connection and adoption relieves the uncertainty for all and the potential alienation of those left behind. The Council’s vision is to support the infrastructure required of a digital Borough and to empower people and organisations to be digitally confident. The objective is for everyone, including the Council, to capitalise on the digital age. By bringing new technology into the heart of how we do things, we will ensure that more people get the service they need in a way that’s responsive, intuitive and convenient. 

Superfast Leicestershire 

Superfast Leicestershire is a multi-million-pound project led by the County Council, in partnership with British Telecommunications (BT), the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP), Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) and district councils. The aim of the project is to bring superfast broadband access to areas not served by commercial operators.

Phase 1 delivery ran from April 2014 to March 2016. Phase 2 delivery ran from April 2016 to September 2019. At the completion of Phase 2 of the programme, more than 72,000 properties had gained access to superfast broadband. That total includes approximately 11,000 businesses. This was achieved through public sector investment of £18 million between 2014 and 2019, augmented by a capital contribution of £8.5 million by British Telecommunications. As a direct result of the project, Superfast Broadband access across Leicestershire has increased from 81% to 96%, which is above the national average. 

Superfast Coverage in Melton

Providers such as BT, Virgin Media and Warwicknet have been rolling out superfast broadband where commercially viable. That footprint across Leicestershire reaches approximately 81% of all premises.

By the end of March 2016, the Superfast Leicestershire project had increased coverage across Leicestershire to 92%. The Phase 2 delivery pushed this to 96% with a further increase through the new Phase 2 extension project targeting 97% of premises.

Significant infrastructure build has already taken place in Melton. The main elements of the network build include:

• • • Fibre enabling and building capacity within (Head End) telephone exchanges.
    • Deploying miles of new fibre optic cabling.
    • Installation of roadside fibre broadband cabinets in areas being upgraded to Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) solutions.
    • Rearranging the existing copper and fibre networks where required.
    • Installation of Passive Optical Network (PON) points for areas being upgraded to Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) technology.
    • Connecting power supplies to each new structure.

Vital Education collaboration

Melton is close to all three of Leicestershire’s top Universities, each highly regarded in the world rankings. All offer exceptional facilities to collaborate with and support businesses, including innovation centres, incubation space and Research & Development resources.

University of Leicester

De Montfort University

Loughborough University

Our Universities have the skills, passion, facilities and capacity to work with businesses of all sizes operating in any market sector.

Melton has everything. While we are known worldwide for our famous culinary specialities and across Britain as the nation’s Rural Capital, there’s so much more to this quintessential English town and its impressive surroundings.

It is an oasis in the glorious rolling Leicestershire countryside, with 70 beautiful villages dotted around the borough. Melton is centrally located and exceptionally well connected; it really is a prime destination to visit, work and live.