£16.5m Dock expansion taking shape in Leicester
Leicester’s Space City Dock is expanding with a £16.5m investment, adding new offices and manufacturing spaces to accommodate businesses in high-tech industries.
Leicester City Council has chosen local company Brackley Property Developments (BPD) as its partner for the Dock expansion project, while construction is undertaken by Wilten Construction, based in the county.
The building will include new offices and manufacturing areas, with the first building’s steel frame set.
The new offices will house up to 45 businesses in 43,000 sq ft, while purpose-built industrial units will add 21,500 sq ft of workspace across nine units.
Managed by the city council, the Dock campus already houses about 50 businesses, with 90% of workspaces in use.
Work began in April 2023 and is expected to be completed by next spring. The initiative receives £13 million in backing from the levelling up fund by the Government, while the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership contributes £3.5 million from retained business rates within the enterprise zone.
Neil McGhee, LLEP board member said: “This new R&D workspace will support the growth of high-tech businesses and help to create 270 jobs at the heart of Space City Leicester.
“Occupancy rates at existing dock buildings demonstrate the strong demand for this type of facility and this project will meet that by providing additional quality space which is developed with a clear focus on low carbon.”
The Space City Leicester collaboration consists of Space Park Leicester, the University of Leicester, the National Space Centre, Leicester City Council, and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP). This initiative is part of the Loughborough and Leicester science and innovation enterprise zone.
