Friday 18th November 2011 - Published by Kelly Jackson - Communications Executive
Innovative Launch Looks the Business in UK Centre
A state-of-the-art innovation centre was launched on Friday (November 18), to support the growth of high value businesses in Northamptonshire.
Scott Bader Innovation Centre provides offices, laboratories and workshop space for companies working in the chemicals, materials, composites and advanced engineering sectors, along with access to specialist business and technical support.
The development of the Innovation Centre was supported by the Fit for Market (FFM) programme, a funding stream that aims to overcome barriers to commercial development in Northamptonshire. The project saw the refurbishment of an existing building at the Scott Bader facility, creating 7,000 sq ft of commercial floorspace and up to 12 small office suites.
The FFM Scheme is managed by Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership, the counties agency which is responsible for economic development. The scheme is part of the county council’s Prosperity Fund, which helps to drive business growth and job creation.
Sajeeda Rose, Director of Economic Development at NEP, commented: “Increasing the availability of quality commercial premises in the county is at the very heart of what the FFM programme aims to do in Northamptonshire. It’s great to see The Innovation Centre up and running. Creating new private sector jobs through innovation, inward investment and business growth is vital to our county’s prosperity.”
In operation since 2004, the FFM programme has successfully funded 33 projects, supporting the construction and refurbishment of commercial premises, employment land remediation and other initiatives. The scheme has been instrumental in providing over £16m of public sector support, with the potential to stimulate private sector investment amounting to £117m in the region.
Sajeeda added: “The overarching principle of FFM is to stimulate high value jobs growth and address market failure in the commercial land and property market in the county. Projects supported under the programme will focus on increasing the quantity and quality of commercial floor space available in Northamptonshire.”
It is envisaged that projects backed by the programme will eventually support the generation of 1,400 additional jobs, the remediation of over 20 hectares of brownfield land, and the creation and refurbishment of more than 30,000 sq m of commercial floorspace.
Scott Bader Innovation Centre Launch - a pr2go story
