NWDA to save Daresbury expansion plan
THE North West Regional Development Agency is to take over the extension of Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus, after its partner mothballed the project.
Vanguard House – a grow-on building for businesses coming out of the innovation centre – will adjoin the existing Daresbury Innovation Centre and the Cockcroft Institute, providing an additional 35,000 sq ft of office and laboratory space.
Developer St Modwen, the NWDA and Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus agreed the development back in April 2008, got planning permission in July, and it was due to complete this autumn.
But TheBusinessDesk has learned that the downturn in the economy – which has hit the property sector particularly hard – meant St Modwen was forced to stall the project.
The NWDA has now said it will step into the breach and develop the site itself to minimise delay to the project.
Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, said the news from St Modwen was a “disappointment” but that the importance of Daresbury to the region’s economy meant action was needed to keep the project on track.
He said: “We are now investigating the possibility of the agency carrying out further development on the site, it is early days but we hope to get the building back on track very soon.
He added: “There is the option of course for St Modwen to wait for an upturn in the economy, and they are working with us on a solution, but the Daresbury site needs the building now as we are aware of potential businesses waiting for this new space and we don’t want to see the campus losing momentum.”
The Daresbury Campus houses 85 fast growing science and technology companies that are seeing sales turnover growing at an average of over 60% a year. These businesses are now “bulging out” of the Innovation Centre, according to Mr Broomhead.
St Modwen had planned a rolling £25m development programme of buildings provided speculatively or to meet occupiers’ requirements across the nine acre site, with the potential for up to 200,000 sq ft of new accommodation, and creating up to 1,200 jobs.
The developer said it remained committed to what it sees as an “important project for the local economy”.
Michelle Taylor, North West regional director for St Modwen, said: “We understand the NWDA’s imperative, however, due to the economic climate we have had to review the timescales within which this project can be delivered.
“We are now working with the NWDA to bring about a positive outcome and continue to work together on a number of other projects across the region including Widnes Regeneration and Stonebridge Park, in Liverpool.”
