Engine Works Park: A 64-Year Story of Industry and Rebirth

Every great development has a story. Engine Works Park’s begins in 1962, on a patch of Kent farmland that would spend the next six decades powering industry across the globe — before falling silent, catching fire, and rising again as something entirely new.

When people ask why we called it Engine Works Park, the answer isn’t a branding exercise. It’s a tribute. The site at Westwood Industrial Estate was, for decades, home to a Cummins engine factory that at its peak employed 600 people and occupied a staggering one million square feet.

The factory was built in the early 1960s, when Thanet’s Westwood area was being developed as a supported industrial zone. Even before Cummins, the site had extraordinary origins — the original factory was built for Hilger and Watts, a precision instrument manufacturer whose products were used in John Glenn’s Friendship 7 space capsule. When Edward Heath opened the factory in July 1964, it was a £300,000 statement of confidence in British manufacturing and in Thanet’s future.

Cummins took over the site and expanded it into a vast complex of production lines, testing bays, and distribution warehouses. For the local community, the factory was more than a building — it was livelihoods. Engineers, welders, assembly workers, logistics staff. By the mid-2000s, the Thanet operation was turning over more than £400 million annually.

But global economics caught up. By 2016, weakening demand forced Cummins to wind down manufacturing and relocate operations to Daventry, India, and China. The site gradually emptied. Then, in September 2018, fire broke out in the vacant building — fuelled by 16,000 bales of illegally stored waste. It burned for 25 days. Eighty firefighters were deployed. The building was gutted.

The charred remains sat untouched for two years. A proud industrial site had become an eyesore and a symbol of neglect.

When Yeats acquired the site, the vision was clear. This wasn’t about erasing history — it was about honouring it. Working with equity partner Nimol and principal contractor South East Steel, we designed 59 purpose-built commercial units across approximately 126,000 square feet. Thanet District Council granted planning permission, and construction commenced in January 2025.

There’s a pleasing symmetry to the story. In 1962, the original factory was built to serve the industries of its era — heavy diesel, power generation, global manufacturing. In 2026, Engine Works Park opens to serve the industries of ours — logistics, e-commerce, sustainable tech, and the creative and digital sectors that are transforming the South East economy.

The site has always powered something. Now it’s ready to power the next chapter.