Plans map out next decade of development to embrace larger high-tech firms

Plans for the next decade of development at Lincoln Science and Innovation Park have been outlined, revealing ambitions to create bespoke new commercial spaces for larger science and technology companies to invest in Lincoln’s historic industrial heartland.

An outline planning application has been submitted (June 2017) to City of Lincoln Council by Lincoln Science and Innovation Park Limited for phase two of its masterplan.

The proposals would provide more than 10,000 square metres of additional floor space over six landscaped acres to the immediate west of the current Science Park. It would offer high quality new commercial space for high-tech firms with units of between 500 and 3,000 squares metres available.

These would complement the existing commercial premises on the eastern side of the Science Park, which is largely focused on Small and Medium Enterprises as well as the University of Lincoln’s College of Science. The new development is designed to provide new building stock that is more focussed on technology than has previously been available in the county but it is also intended to provide a resource for businesses located across Lincolnshire. The Park’s ambition is to lift the performance of entire sectors in Greater Lincolnshire by providing a cluster of people, talent, skills, equipment and ideas that can spread across the whole county.

Lincoln Science and Innovation Park is a partnership between Lincolnshire Co-op and University of Lincoln which offers a new hub for private sector investment and innovation alongside state-of-the-art academic research science facilities in the centre of Lincoln, within less than a mile of the city centre, including the major transport hub development and the University campus.

The new Masterplan follows a rapid period of development for the Science Park. There has been £15m investment in the flagship Joseph Banks Laboratories and Minster House, which opened in 2014 and now host more than 1,000 students and researchers in fields such as life sciences, chemistry and pharmacy. These academic buildings sit alongside the new £7m Boole Technology Centre which provides highly customisable premises for small and medium sized companies working in science and technology.

Since completion in February, the Boole Technology Centre has already welcomed private sector tenants from sectors spanning aerospace to microbiology. Already, tenants have developed new relationships with the University of Lincoln; Nutrapharma Limited is beginning to work on health supplement formulations with the School of Chemistry, while Metis Aerospace has just announced a new collaborative project with the School of Computer Science. Projects like the Lincoln Hack which welcomes students with a passion for coding have found support from Kryptokloud Limited.

Thomas Blount, Director of Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, said: “Our vision for phase one of the Science and Innovation Park was to bring together academic research laboratories alongside agile, small businesses whose agility who are best placed to exploit new innovations. With phase two we are looking to create an environment which engages whole supply chains to really impact on the county’s innovation ecosystem and the wider regional economy.

“By providing commercial spaces for larger businesses, we not only embrace the dynamism of smaller firms but the critical mass of larger companies which both feed and drive forward that culture of innovation, pushing intellectual property out from laboratories and workbenches into the marketplace.”

Located on Beevor Street, off Tritton Road in the city’s historic industrial heartland, Lincoln Science and Innovation Park has been developed on part of the former Ruston Bucyrus factory site.
Around £22m has so far been invested in the Science Park and it is anticipated at least that level of investment would be made in the next phase of development over the coming decade. It is estimated expansion of the Science Park could create and support around 800 new jobs.

Ursula Lidbetter, Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Co-op and Board Member of Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, said: “Lincolnshire Co-op has invested in building a community of innovators and businesses on the Science Park because we believe growing our county’s technical skills base and ability to innovate is essential to the future of Lincolnshire’s economy. We welcome this proposal as a big step forward in achieving our vision.”

Professor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln and a fellow Science Park Board Member, added: “Growing the Science and Innovation Park provides huge opportunities for our students to find jobs and our academics to work closely with industry. The benefits of this should be felt across the whole Greater Lincolnshire economy and beyond and it is a strong signal showing our resolve to help drive forward the region for the benefit of all.”