Public private partnership set out for Daresbury

Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus has set out a unique, long-term opportunity for a private sector partner to develop up to 1 million square feet of space and to provide facilities management and other services to the campus.

Colin Whitehouse is excited about Daresbury’s future

It is anticipated that the joint venture - between existing Campus partners; Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Halton Borough Council, and a private sector business or consortium - will be operational by May 2010, following a period of pre-qualification and selection of the preferred bidder by the public sector partners.

Professor Colin Whitehouse, chair of the Joint Venture Executive Steering Group and Deputy Chief Executive of the STFC said: “This is an exciting time in the development of Daresbury SIC. The Campus has already demonstrated that it is leading the way in bringing together scientists, academics and the business community to share their knowledge and find innovative solutions to global challenges including energy, healthcare, security and the environment.”

One of two national Science and Innovation Campuses - Daresbury SIC is a high profile development bringing together STFC, high-tech businesses, universities, research organisations and strategic industrial partners, along with the business support and investor community to create up to 10,000 new jobs.

The Campus is already home to almost 100 high-tech companies in sectors including biomedical, digital/ICT/telecoms, advanced engineering/instrumentation and energy and environmental technologies. The majority of these companies are high-tech SMEs but also present are major international blue chip organisations such as IBM and SGI.