Construction of a £17.8m office and “innovation space” development has been completed at a world-leading city region science park.
Project Violet, based at Sci-Tech Daresbury on the outskirts of Halton, is expected to create and support 332 full-time equivalent jobs in knowledge sector businesses.
Delegates including Halton Borough Council chiefs attended a handover event with lead contractor Willmott Dixon to mark the construction completion milestone.
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A Sci-Tech Daresbury spokesman said Project Violet was built to the “highest energy efficiency standards” with a view to accommodating “dynamic, forward-thinking” science and technology businesses.
Providing 43,000 sq ft of Grade A office and innovation space, the scheme comprises two buildings with 12,000 sq ft of space each and a third unit with 19,000 sq ft.
Landscaping works also took place.
Project Violet was supported by £8.4m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, consisting of a £2.5m loan from the Urban Development Fund and £5.9m from the combined authority’s Chrysalis Fund
The spokesman said the development underlines the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint venture’s “commitment to the future prosperity of the Liverpool City Region and wider North West” by providing high-quality workspace to meet demand and for businesses “attracted to the area’s unrivalled ecosystem” of private and public sector business support, academia and transport connectivity.
Final negotiations for tenancies are reported to be nearing completion with announcements expected in coming weeks.
Three quarters of Project Violet is predicted to be let by the end of these discussions.
Halton Borough Council, one of the joint venture partners, granted planning permission in December for a bigger scheme called Project Ultraviolet, which will encompass 180,000 sq ft of Grade A office and laboratory space.
Sci-Tech Daresbury said the expansion drive comes amid heightened demand for “world-class” science facilities, which at Daresbury are already used by 150 companies including IBM and Hitachi.
Thirty tenant firms arrived on site in 2021.
John Downes, Langtree chief executive and Sci-Tech Daresbury chairman, said: “Project Violet reaching completion is yet another moment of real excitement at a time when our campus is truly going from strength to strength.
“Our ambitious plans for propelling science and technology forward in our region through investing in quality laboratory and office space have already been vindicated by the strong interest in Violet, and we look forward to sharing details of our first tenants in the coming weeks.
“Contracts were signed for the build programme of Project Violet in the summer of 2020, when the first few months of the pandemic had led many to believe that high-quality office and laboratory space would no longer be in demand in the years to come.
“This was not a view we shared, and the strong demand we’re experiencing for Violet vindicates that our unwavering faith in cutting-edge businesses in the North West has been more than vindicated.
“The work we’re currently undertaking will be pivotal in supporting science and technology in our region and beyond for decades to come - this is a truly exhilarating period for Sci-Tech Daresbury.”
Other initiatives include Sci-Tech Daresbury’s Digital Tech Cluster, which was launched in November and is forecast to create 1,000 jobs
Additionally, STFC’s Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation (HNCDI) announced £172m funding from the government with an in-kind contribution of £38m from strategic partner, IBM Research.
This is intended to form a key part of the UK’s advancement in the development and industrial application of technologies such as data analytics, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor, said: “Sci-Tech Daresbury is a thriving hub for science and technology in our region, playing host to many of the cutting-edge, innovative businesses that will help us to build a greener, smart and better-connected Liverpool City Region.
“We are only scratching the surface of our region’s potential to be at the vanguard of science and innovation in the UK.
“This latest expansion of the Sci-Tech Daresbury campus means that we can continue to attract world-leading businesses to our region, delivering hundreds of high-quality, high-value jobs that fuel our ambitions to be global innovators”
Cllr Mike Wharton, Halton Borough Council leader, said: “This is another major milestone in the continuous development of Sci-Tech Daresbury.
“Project Violet, which is expected to create hundreds of jobs, provides quality office and innovation space to meet the growing demand from businesses, and is a place where they will receive the support they need to thrive and grow.
“There has been a lot of interest in this accommodation, and plans are already underway for the next phase of development on the site, which is great news.”
Paul Vernon, head of the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Daresbury Laboratory, said: “This is an exciting milestone for Sci-Tech Daresbury, as it continues to support the growing demand from businesses from across the region.
“Access to STFC’s world class science and technology facilities here on campus enables these businesses to innovate and drive-up productivity, growth and job creation, to the benefit of our economy across the North West and beyond.”
The development is funded using the Enterprise Zone retained business rates and investment from the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint-venture.
Cornerstone funding is provided by the Chrysalis Fund and the LCR Urban Development Fund, which funds development, regeneration, and sustainability projects in the Liverpool City Region, supported by the European Regional Development Fund through the 2014-2020 England Operational Programme.
Designed by Seven Architecture, the Project Violet is situated near the main entry to the campus off the Daresbury Expressway and near Keckwick Lane and Innovation Way, close to the outskirts of Runcorn.
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