£30m science centre project given green light to being construction
CONSTRUCTION of a new £30m science and technology centre aimed at boosting education and the local economy in north Staffordshire is ready to begin.
Governors at Staffordshire University have given the green light to the project – part of the University Quarter (UniQ) scheme – with work by Wakefield-based Miller Construction commencing immediately and due for completion by autumn 2012.
University deputy vice-chancellor Paul Richards said: “The university has taken the decision that this can’t wait.
“The Science and Technology Centre is another giant step in the regeneration of north Staffordshire and we are confident it will make a significant impact on creating a science-literate community and a qualified workforce to help grow our science-based industries.
“The new centre will also provide the university and its partners with the facilities and capacity to undertake more consultancy and research which has relevance to the wider world.”
This latest development is a piece of welcome news in what has been a turbulent few weeks for regeneration in north Staffordshire.
Stoke City Council members decided last month to disband the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership – a body charged with delivering £1.6bn of renewal projects across the area – while its managing director and council regen director Tom Macartney quit his post.
This was followed a few weeks later by the news that the city council’s development director Darren Jones was also leaving the authority, to join Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council.
In addition, neighbouring Newcastle Borough Council has this week lost its chief executive Mark Barrow, right, himself a regeneration specialist, who has started working with Birmingham City Council as its new strategic director of development.
UniQ is a 25-year, £285m regeneration scheme – run jointly by Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent College and City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College – which also includes local housing improvements, remodelling work of the campus and a new media centre.
It is being managed by the Birmingham office of property consultancy Turner and Townsend.
Bruce McAra, managing director of programme and project management, added: “When we started working in partnership with the UniQ team the aspiration was always to create a template for a world-class learning facility in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent.
“With the first stage of the project beginning on site we are one step closer to ensuring Staffordshire regeneration is driven by education.”
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