North’s first space-testing facility proposed for town
Bradford Council said a new £9m Space Test North centre, due to be considered by its Executive Committee next week, could establish Keighley as a nationally-important hub for space technology.
It said the centre could create dozens of permanent, high-skilled jobs and open new training routes.
The council said the district has a “rare opportunity” to secure a globally-backed investment that could establish the first dedicated radio frequency and environmental space-testing facility in the north of England.
Its Executive Committee is being asked to approve a maximum grant of £4.524m from the Local Regeneration Fund for MPG Europe, a brand under Dover Corporation’s MPG operating company, towards the £9.048m capital cost of developing the facility at Providence Park, in the town centre.
The remaining capital investment would be provided by Dover Corporation, and if the expenditure is less than £9.048m, the grant contribution will be capped at 50 per cent.
The council grant would be funded entirely from its existing £19.8m Levelling Up Fund allocation for Keighley (now known as the Local Regeneration Fund).
Space Test North would provide specialist radio frequency and environmental testing for space and satellite hardware. There council said there is currently no comparable facility of this kind across the region.
Councillor Andrew Judson, Bradford Council’s lead member for economy, planning and regeneration, said: “This is a genuinely exciting opportunity for Keighley and for the whole of our district.
“We already have a strong and growing space, radio frequency and advanced manufacturing cluster across the Aire Valley but crucially, this is about people as well as technology. It is set to create permanent skilled jobs, specialised training and career pathways.
“We are being asked to make a strategic investment in Keighley’s future as a place to create and innovate, strengthening our position as an emerging UK space hub.”
The facility would comprise around 15,000 sq ft of industrial testing space and 2,150 sq ft of training space, equipped with specialist technology including a mix of vacuum chamber, thermal chamber, humidity chamber and vibration table to recreate conditions encountered in space.
The project is expected to create more than 50 jobs at the Keighley site. More than 40 further jobs are estimated to be supported in the wider economy through supply-chain and local spending effects.
Bradford Council said this would also create opportunities for apprenticeships, continuous professional development and technical career pathways through collaboration with the University of Bradford and Keighley College.
