Science and innovation campus is a private-public joint-venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Halton Council
Liverpool city region’s Sci-Tech Daresbury innovation and business park contributes £163m to the UK economy annually, a new report claims.
Sci-Tech Daresbury is a private-public joint-venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Halton Council.
Designated as an Enterprise Zone the facility is home to 114 companies with more than 900 people employed on-site and supporting 2,000 jobs across the UK.
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The latest study for the STFC has measured the economic value and wider impacts created by the campus during the 2014/15 financial year – the latest data available – and said the contribution to the North West economy was £135m.
International influence
The report by SQW noted that Sci-Tech Daresbury is home to an expanding community of science and technology firms and allows the UK to gain international influence to develop the next generation of scientists.
It follows the launch of the Government’s Industrial Strategy during the Prime Minister’s visit to STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory earlier this year, where she also heard about its on-going success in bringing scientific research and businesses closer together to help deliver on the UK’s ambition of continued economic growth.
Science Minister, Jo Johnson, said: “Sci-Tech Daresbury’s contribution to the national and local economy is tremendous, and an excellent example of why we’ve put science and innovation at the heart our Industrial Strategy to boost the competitiveness of the UK economy.”
“By investing an additional £2.3bn for R&D in 2021/22, and working with industry to increase R&D investment to 2.4% of our GDP by 2027, we are ensuring our world-leading research base continues to have UK and global impact.”
Economic value
Sci-Tech Daresbury’s wider activity has shown that the campus engaged with 38,000 people over the course of three years, 16,000 of whom were students. The figures also revealed that its economic value to the UK is set to rise to £660m by 2040.
Dr Tim Bestwick, executive director of business and innovation at STFC, said: “It’s very encouraging to see the outcome of this report, which highlights the increasing value of the facilities and expertise at Sci-Tech Daresbury.
“Daresbury is now a central hub for collaboration and investment in this rapidly growing sector, attracting major international companies to base their operations in the North West of England.”