UWE Bristol was yesterday named as one of four new sites for high-tech enterprise zones by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne. The chancellor’s announcement followed a report from the Centre for Cities which advocated the Bristol and Bath area as a world leader for innovation in high-tech, creative and digital media.
The zone will be located in a 4,000 square metre building formerly used by HP labs, and is expected to generate more than 500 new jobs and £50m for the local economy.
The £16.5m project is supported by £4m from the Government with match-funding from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and UWE Bristol. The University of Bristol collaborated in the project, with strong support also offered from South Gloucestershire Council, the University of Bath and the West of England Academic Health Science Network.
In the zone
The enterprise zone will provide laboratory space, offices and workshops, share start-up ‘studio’ space, communal space for networking and meeting, access to specialist equipment and technical support and business services. These spaces will function as a ‘hatchery’ for businesses specialising in robotics, biosciences, biomedicine and other high tech areas, and will be supported by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
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Vice-Chancellor for Research and Business Engagement at UWE, Professor Martin Boddy led the project for the University. Boddy commented, “The University has a strong track record of working with a whole range of partners to support innovation, business growth and the skills to meet business needs through innovation networks, knowledge transfer partnerships, the i4G Growth Fund and other initiatives.”
“This will be much more than just a building. It will provide access to the sorts of facilities and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach for new and growing businesses”
Boddy added: “The University Enterprise Zone now provides a tremendously exciting opportunity to build on this success with a new venture that will help to drive forwards the major cluster of high growth, innovative, technology-based businesses in the West of England.
“This will be much more than just a building. It will provide access to the sorts of facilities and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach for new and growing businesses. It will provide ‘wet labs’ – currently a real gap in the market.
“It will promote collaboration and networking between businesses, university researchers, students and graduates,” Boddy continues, “and there will be dedicated business support and services from the university, Bristol Business School and partner organisations.
“It will complement Bristol and Bath Science Park, the LEP Enterprise Zone and Enterprise Areas and the Engine Shed Incubation Centre at Temple Quay and Bath Innovation Centre – together these provide a fantastically rich and fertile ecosystem to support business growth and innovation across the whole city-region.”
West of England LEP chair, Colin Skellett, said, “The Government’s support for the proposal from the University of the West of England and University of Bristol to establish a University Enterprise Zone with £4m of additional funding is extremely welcome, and recognition of the strengths our region offers.
“This will create opportunities for greater university-business collaboration, providing grow-on and incubator space alongside leading-edge university research and R&D facilities.”
“This will create opportunities for greater university-business collaboration, providing grow-on and incubator space alongside leading-edge university research and R&D facilities”
Skellett adds: “The West of England is being seen more and more as a leader in a number of areas, including robotics, high tech, creative and digital innovation, which also form a key part of our strategic economic plan. The University Enterprise Zone very much complements our plan.”
