At Yeats, we don’t just build on sites — we build from them. Every development we undertake starts with a question: what was here before, and how do we honour that while creating something that works for the future?
Engine Works Park, our 59-unit, 126,000 sq ft commercial scheme at Westwood Industrial Estate in Thanet, sits on land with deep industrial roots. For decades, the site was home to a Cummins engine manufacturing facility — one of the largest employers in East Kent, with up to 600 staff and annual turnover in the hundreds of millions.
When the factory closed in 2016 and a devastating fire followed in 2018, the site became a symbol of decline. But for Yeats, it represented something else entirely: an opportunity to regenerate a significant piece of Thanet’s industrial heritage and repurpose it for the next wave of economic activity.
Designing for the Future
Engine Works Park has been designed from the ground up to serve the businesses that are actually driving demand in the South East: logistics operators, trade contractors, light manufacturers, creative studios, and growing SMEs. The scheme delivers 59 units ranging from starter spaces to larger warehouse and workshop configurations, all built to a modern specification with flexibility at the core.
The split-level design maximises usable space on every unit — ground-floor workspace with mezzanine office or storage above. It’s a format that works for a wide range of occupiers and reflects how businesses actually operate today, not how they operated when the original factory was built in the 1960s.
Margate’s Regeneration Story
Engine Works Park sits within a broader regeneration narrative. Margate and the wider Thanet area have undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years, driven by cultural investment (the Turner Contemporary has attracted over 4 million visitors), infrastructure improvements (Thanet Parkway station now connects the area to London in around 70 minutes), and a growing influx of entrepreneurs and creative professionals relocating from the capital.
What Thanet has lacked, until now, is a significant supply of modern commercial space to match this momentum. Engine Works Park fills that gap — providing the kind of workspace that attracts and retains businesses, rather than forcing them to operate from converted or substandard premises.
Partnership with Nimol
The scheme is being delivered in partnership with Nimol, our equity partner. Together, we’ve committed to building a development that reflects both commercial ambition and a genuine respect for the site’s history. The name “Engine Works” is itself a nod to the Cummins legacy — a reminder that this site has always been a place where things are made, built, and engineered.
From heritage to innovation — Engine Works Park is Thanet’s next chapter.
