Innovation is the key to economic growth
County Durham Development Company (CDDC) encourages innovation and strategic investment in the County on behalf of Durham County Council and is playing a central role in shaping the County’s future economic profile. It is responsible for maximizing the positive economic impact of the knowledge-driven economy in County Durham.
On behalf of the County Council, CDDC
manages the highly successful NETPark
Incubator. Located at Sedgefield in County
Durham, NETPark is the North East
England’s premier science, engineering and
technology park.
As CDDC’s managing director Stewart
Watkins says: “We recognize that our
future economic well-being depends on
driving innovation and harnessing the
region’s intellectual power.
“Innovation and knowledge-based investment are crucial to growth and prosperity so we must create and sustain an infrastructure that encourages investment and R&D activity. NETPark is a key component.” When it opened in December 2005, Phase 1 of the NETPark Incubator added a new type of business accommodation to an already impressive property portfolio in County Durham.
An adaptable mix of laboratory and office space available on flexible occupancy terms, it has attracted high-tech businesses in sectors which will experience rapid growth in the future. NETPark’s strengths include an extremely high quality environment, land available for easy expansion to encourage companies to stay, and links to world-class research in all five universities throughout the North East. Stewart Watkins adds: “The NETPark Incubator quickly became home to some of the most advanced technology companies in the region, drawn there because it’s a unique combination of university research centers, spin-out businesses and high-tech companies, co-located with knowledgebased business support.”
Recent developments are likely to increase the impact NETPark is having on the drive to develop the region’s knowledge-based economy. With the UK flagship £10m Printable Electronics Technology Centre (PETEC) now open for business and work on Phase 2 of the Incubator complete, construction of bespoke R&D ‘pods’ ranging from 2,500 ft2 to 7,800 ft2 for companies needing expansion or investment space will start this year.
And the UK’s fastest growing science and technology park has been given the green light to build a facility capable of headquartering the global operations of a cuttingedge international company. Planning permission for the large-scale, high-tech prototyping and development facility will make NETPark the first science park in the region capable of housing such a prestigious venture.
Stewart Watkins continues: “We want to see the County’s innovative companies growing and competing with the best in the world – leading the way in developing world-class technologies that create new products and new markets. All as part of a knowledge intensive community.” Innovation can be the route to increased quality, increased productivity, and increased profit for all types of business. In County Durham there are companies which are developing new products and exploiting knowledge and intellectual capital to remain competitive in global markets.
MAJOR DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
For inward investors CDDC will help identify suitable sites or premises, local suppliers, recruitment and training support, sources of financial assistance and potential business contacts. Stewart Watkins comments: “We have a unique overview of the property and land portfolio throughout the County and our website features around 500 commercial properties available for sale or to rent – properties handled by a variety of agents. “A combination of private and public sector investment has created a range of business space throughout the county and we’ve been working to maximise job creation opportunities throughout County Durham by taking an active role in improving the physical infrastructure for business.”
Despite the unprecedented global economic situation there are currently several exciting developments which could create significant numbers of new jobs in County Durham.
CDDC is currently working closely with the private sector on Durham Gate – a £100m venture at Green Lane in Spennymoor. This proposal by Carillion Arlington Real Estate (CARE) is for a mixed industrial, commercial and residential development and it has the potential to make a major contribution to County Durham’s business offering. In the east of the County, the proposal by Coolmore Estates Ltd to create a Centre for Creative Excellence, a multi-million pound film studio and education complex, has the potential to create in excess of 2,000 new jobs in what will be a future focus for the film and media industry in the region.
And County Durham can offer the land needed for developments
on a large scale. On the giant 104 acre Heighington Lane West
site on the outskirts of Newton Aycliffe, developer Merchant Place
is constructing a business park of up to 1.4 million ft2 of B1/B2/
B8 use, with the potential for one unit alone to be a massive one
million ft2.
The new £5.8m Tanfield Lea Business Centre, near Stanley, has
attracted significant funding from regional development agency
One North East and houses 36 business units in a cutting-edge,
three-storey building.
Opened in March 2009, the center is targeted at new and expanding businesses, with an innovative lettings policy to encourage young people to pursue self-employment. The new £24m Thorn Lighting facility at Spennymoor and the company’s Thin Organic Polymeric Light Emitting Semi-conducting Surfaces (TOPLESS) project to develop low-voltage, energy efficient lighting, currently at the stage of small scale prototype testing at NETPark’s PETEC, are further evidence that County Durham can provide an environment in which business can thrive.
To contact County Durham Development Company,
Tel: +44 (0) 191 370 8680
e-mail enquiries@wherebusinessgrows.com, or visit:
www.wherebusinessgrows.com and www.uknetpark.net
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