EEDA - East of England Development Agency

£5 million boost for Norwich as world-class science city

26 January 2010

A £5 million funding package from EEDA and Norwich Research Park partners will boost the city’s world-class reputation as one of the country’s leading centres for scientific research.

The money to extend the innovation and incubation facilities is the first stage of a plan to create up to 5,000 new jobs in science and scientific research at the NRP by 2021.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will provide £500,000 as well as the land and buildings to host the new facilities, with £1.4 million coming from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), £1 million from the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP), £500,000 from NRP partner the University of East Anglia (UEA), and the remainder from other NRP partners.

Up to 300 new jobs will be created and the facilities are planned to be the first of a number of new buildings to be erected at the NRP to accommodate the growing community of world-class scientists and researchers being attracted to Norwich and the NRP. The new facilities, due to open in the summer, will be managed by a new joint venture company Colney Innovations Ltd (CIL).

Over 30 office and laboratory units are being constructed and fitted out in a totally refurbished and customised 4,215 sq m (43,000 sq ft) three-storey building, located adjacent to the Institute of Food Research on the NRP.

Paul May, executive director of innovation at EEDA said:  “The future prosperity of our region will depend on the continued success of our knowledge-based industries.  Companies on the Norwich Research Park have managed to buck the economic trend by continuing to prosper during the tough economic times.  The international markets they serve, for high-end products and services in the fields of health and environmental science, are rapidly expanding.  This development, and our partnership with GNDP, will further consolidate our region’s position as an international leader in these fields.”  

Cllr John Fuller, Leader of South Norfolk Council and chair of the GNDP, said: “The Norwich Bio-Incubator has been a tremendous success story.  Its tenants have prospered and are now looking for space to expand.  This investment, which is testament to the strong partnership between the GNDP and EEDA, is a huge advance for the future of science in Norwich.”

Professsor Douglas Kell, Chief Executive of BBSRC, said: “The Norwich Research Park is already home to three world-class BBSRC institutes: the John Innes Centre, the Institute of Food Research and The Genome Analysis Centre. This facility will play a key role in helping our scientists, and others in the region, to translate their world-leading science into products, services, advice and jobs to benefit the economy and people of the UK. BBSRC is proud to be a partner in efforts to drive the Norwich Research Park vision.”

The John Innes Centre (JIC) and the Institute of Food Research (IFR) are also involved with the management of the facility, which will be controlled by Colney Innovations Ltd (CIL).

David Parfrey, BBSRC Director of Finance and director of CIL said: “Norfolk is a world-class location and this new and exciting development reflects Norfolk’s growing status on the world stage. The office and laboratory suites will provide unrivalled facilities for new and expanding research businesses attracted to the cluster of science facilities at the NRP.

“Within one kilometre of this facility, there are today no fewer than 2,700 research scientists focussed on health, food and environmental sciences, a unique resource in this country. By 2021, we plan to create the facilities for 5,000 new science-related jobs on the NRP which will make Norfolk one of the world’s largest single-site scientific research centres.”

The new offices and laboratories will provide the opportunity to expand the number of companies setting up at or moving to the Norwich Research Park and provide follow-on space for existing bio-tech and other science-related companies in Norwich that need to expand.  It will also provide room for further start-ups.

Morgan Ashurst have been appointed as the main contractors and the new facilities will be fully operational as early as July 2010.

The Norwich Research Park is an international centre for research on plants, micro-organisms, food, environment, health and ICT.  It includes the Norwich Bio-Incubator, which accommodates award-winning entrepreneurs and start-up companies in 2,000 sq m (20,000 sq ft) of laboratory and office space. These businesses are supported by a network of business, scientific, financial and legal advisors.

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