Construction completes on £10m university science centre

Construction work has completed on a new £10m science centre facility at the University of Wolverhampton.

Clegg Construction has carried out the contract, which has provided new laboratory and workshop space for science and engineering businesses.

The £10.1m facility is situated at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park in Glaisher Drive.

Work started in February 2016 on the three-storey development, which has 4,000m² of space and features new offices, labs and workshops, as well as a café and space for parking.

The building is designed to offer flexible space, including future expansion offices for science-based businesses.

The building also employs low carbon technology, adopting photovoltaic panels along with exposed concrete structures to reduce energy demand in heating and cooling the building.

As part of the contract, Clegg Construction also provided work experience for University of Wolverhampton students from the School of Architecture and the Built Environment.

Simon Blackburn, managing director of Clegg Construction, said: “It is fantastic to see the building finished and handed over to the client ready for occupation by businesses.

“It was a great development to work on and occupies a prominent position close to Wolverhampton city centre and is very much part of the wider regeneration of the city.”

Nigel Babb, University of Wolverhampton Science Park commercial director said: “The new centre will offer unrivalled specialist space to scientific-based businesses wanting to develop and enhance their research and development activities.

“We think it will attract science and technology-based companies right to heart of Wolverhampton.”

Clegg Construction is currently working on a £4.5m contract to overhaul part of the Main Building at Aston University to create new labs for its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The firm has also completed schemes for the University of Birmingham and University of Nottingham.