Birmingham Science Park Aston (BSPA) is accelerating the
timescales for developing its £35 million Digital Plaza,
following Government approval of the designation of the site within
the LEP's Enterprise Zone.
A joint venture partner is currently being sought for the
development. The Science Park - which is wholly owned by Birmingham
City Council - is targeting to conclude the selection process by
the end of 2011. However, the Enterprise Zone designation will see
BSPA fast-track the timescales for the development, with a planning
application now anticipated for spring 2012. Subject to planning,
construction work could commence speculatively as early as
September 2012.
Dr David Hardman MBE, CEO of Birmingham Science Park Aston said:
"Since announcing plans for the £35 million Digital Plaza
earlier this year, we have been overwhelmed with the response from
prospective joint venture partners, as well as potential future
occupiers. This development is so greatly needed as a beacon of
Birmingham's innovation agenda.
"We are confident of being able to deliver the first phase of
the Digital Plaza speculatively, which is unheard of in this
market. The Enterprise Zone designation will help to make this a
reality."
The Digital Plaza will be developed next to the Park's Faraday
Wharf building. It will comprise four state of the art buildings,
specifically designed for the new generation of hi-tech companies.
While the nature of the work in the hi-tech and digital gaming
industry typically lends itself to people working from home, BSPA's
thriving mix of tenants strongly advocate that businesses can grow
more effectively working from a specialist hub environment.
The four proposed Digital Plaza buildings will provide a total
gross area of over 100,000 sq ft of space, with the first building
- iCentrumTM - expected to be circa 40,000 sq ft. The plans
envisage four new buildings arranged around a new plaza to be
developed on the land fronting on to Holt Street. There are plans
for three further buildings, offering more hi-tech flexible
workspace.
Over 37,000 sq ft of business space has been let across the 14
acre BSPA estate over the past 18 months. Faraday Wharf, which
incorporates an extensive suite of meeting and conference rooms -
as well as the Park's nationally acclaimed Entrepreneurs for the
Future (e4f) incubation centre - is now over 95 per cent let, with
17,684 sq ft of space let to Small to Medium sized Enterprises.
Cllr Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council and chairman
of Birmingham Science Park Aston comments: "We are driving forward
with our business strategy to make Birmingham Science Park Aston a
world-leading science park, fit for 2020 and beyond. Many of our
initiatives and partnerships do not rely on developing new
buildings at the Park, but we need to respond to tenants' needs and
the considerable uptake in space here in the past 12 months.
"In order to remain competitive, we must create buildings which
are specifically designed for companies in the hi-tech and digital
gaming sectors and for the digitally savvy founders of these
ventures. As the Prime Minister has stated in his announcement
about Enterprise Zones, it is these knowledge-based businesses
which have the potential for high growth and will be a key factor
in driving our economy out of recession."
BSPA's internet connection is unrivalled across the country; UK
Broadband is implementing a 4G trial at the Park; and together with
Cisco, JANET and the University of Warwick, BSPA has become the
UK's first Science Park Without Walls.