10 April 2008
Hundreds of new job opportunities could be created in
Merseyside with the launch of Liverpool Innovation Park (LIP) later
this week.
The Innovation Park has been created by bringing together three
adjoining business sites on Edge Lane; the former Marconi research
centre recently known as Liverpool Digital, the former Mersey
Transport depot site, now remediated and ready for development, and
the established Wavertree Technology Park. Together, as LIP, they
have the potential to house a business community totalling in
excess of 1 million sq ft of floorspace. This development is
reserved for firms from high technology and innovative sectors.
Importantly, LIP is being linked into the rest of Liverpool’s
knowledge economy. The area around the universities, where
Liverpool Science Park is based, is being branded as Liverpool
Knowledge Quarter. The Quarter is then joined to the Innovation
Park by Liverpool Innovation Corridor, which provides a two way
flow of businesses, talent, ideas and money, which will benefit
research, company development, job creation and graduate
retention.
Liverpool Innovation Park is owned and managed by Space
Northwest - a public private partnership created by the Northwest
Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Ashtenne Industrial
Fund.
Liverpool Digital and Wavertree Technology Park already have a
notable number of high technology and innovation companies.
The development land on LIP has the capacity to house six new
buildings totalling up to 400,000 sq ft, They are earmarked for
businesses from a wide range of knowledge-based disciplines that
either will conduct research or draw heavily on the fruits of
research elsewhere.
Wayne Locke, director of Space Northwest, explained:
“Liverpool Innovation Park offers huge potential for industries in
the knowledge and innovation sectors for two principal reasons –
Firstly its excellent strategic location within the city of
Liverpool and secondly because it has high capacity, resilient
fibre optic connections – vital for today’s leading technological
companies”.
“The ultimate objective is to develop a vibrant business
community at the LIP, networked along the corridor into the
Knowledge Quarter. Institutions and businesses at each end of the
Innovation Corridor will be operated and promoted alongside each
other as complementary elements. They will offer a single
innovation economy, thereby attracting further investment to the
city.”
Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA said:
“LIP will become a serious economic engine for Merseyside. Rapid
and sustainable growth of the knowledge economy is crucial for the
future in the region, and innovation is a key component. The Agency
has invested in both LIP and in Liverpool Science Park, as the two
are complementary, and together they will help maximise the
contribution that the universities make to our future prosperity.
It is very important that Merseyside can make a strong science and
innovation park offer to inward investors, and to use this to
attract and retain talent”.
Jim Gill, chief executive of Liverpool Vision added:
'Liverpool Innovation Park is an important development for the
city. The knowledge economy is a key growth sector and it is
pleasing that new high quality accommodation is being delivered to
meet the demand of knowledge based companies.”
Space Northwest is currently marketing 230,000 sq ft of
available accommodation out of a total of 410,000 sq ft of space at
Liverpool Digital, Existing occupiers include Liverpool John Moores
University’s International Centre for Digital Content and Aimes
Grid Services. The joint venture is in the process of
investing in excess of £5 million in speculatively refurbishing
additional accommodation, adding a café and meeting rooms, together
with generally improving the frontage and image of this prestigious
development.
Sony, ICDC, DigitalInc, Selex Communications Limited, Baxters
Healthcare Limited, Scientific Hospital Supplies International
Limited, Ultramedic Limited, Gardner Systems plc and Human
Recognition Systems Limited are among the other occupiers already
on site.
Further details are available from: Sylvia Pollock or Mark
Tock at Liverpool Innovation Park:
T: 0151 261 4688
F: 0151 261 4696
W: www.ashtenne-online.co.uk
W: www.spacenorthwest.co.uk
ENDS
Editorial contact:
Julie Whyman, Lorien PR Limited
T: 0151 342 1390 M: 07949 169190