The boss of a Carlisle industrial estate says the coronavirus pandemic has not dampened the level in interest from new tenants or the work of firms based there.

Kingmoor Park is Cumbria’s only Enterprise Zone.

Members of its management team have been working from home since lockdown began and Neil McIntyre, managing director, said: “They have dealt with a steady stream of enquiries and have agreed lettings on several properties during the past few weeks.

“This is a time for businesses to stop and ask themselves if their current premises are meeting their needs.

“A few months ago, we were concerned that those looking to expand might have been deterred by the current situation.

“This proved not to be the case which demonstrates the tenacity and resilience of Cumbrian firms.”

Existing tenants on the industrial estate have been dealing with the impact of the pandemic.

Parcel firms Hermes, DPD and UPS are busier than ever, they say, and have taken on extra staff to cope with the increased demand brought on by online shopping.

Lakeland Bake Limited supplies crumpets to supermarket chains across the UK.

It said it was business as usual, plus it had introduced an extremely popular sideline in providing charitable organisations with its unique shaped crumpets.

This year alone, it will bake and distribute 45 million crumpets.

One firm forced to close completely in March was CrossFit Hawk Eye. It offered online fitness classes, introduced an app for members to work out at home. It reopened this week, offering outdoor classes only.

Director Andrew Carigiet said: “We also started to loan out equipment that otherwise would have been sitting in the gym to keep workouts interesting. We are really pleased with how popular the online solutions have been and now the outdoor classes in groups of five are really sought after and fully booked up to a week in advance.

“We have a plan to reopen the gym properly once guidelines allow. We also hope to continue Hawk Eye at Home for the foreseeable.”

And it has been business as usual for Kingmoor Park’s own projects.

Its £1.3 million ModVillage, a unique development of business space made out of refurbished shipping containers, is taking shape with the first container offices having arrived onsite recently ready for their new occupiers, Mr McIntyre added.

He added: “The way organisations work is changing now more than ever and the need to adapt is paramount.

“Every business needs a base and that’s exactly what ModVillage provides.

“This base could cater for larger businesses who may now be encouraging their employees to work from home or smaller businesses seeking their own space.”