BP Going

Published on Tuesday 25 March 2003 in The Gazette

BP is leaving Hemel Hempstead it was announced today.

The company says it has taken the decision not to renew its lease on Breakspear Park, the prestige building just by the Hemel junction with the M1.

The move will involve about 750 people in all and most will be re-located to a purpose built business park at Sunbury on Thames.

The company does, however say that about 150 people will be based at a smaller operations centre elsewhere in the Hemel area.

At its peak in the 1990s, about 1,200 people worked at BP house, renamed Breakspear Park when the company scaled down its activities in the town.

The move, says BP, will be phased in from late 2003 and throughout 2004

The oil giant has been a big part of the town since the early 1970s when it occupied the office building that spanned the entrance to the town centre.

It moved to its current site in 1989 after the town centre building had to be closed and later demolished due to structural problems.

Added by David F Thorn on 29 September 2011