Darlington’s £8.3m Innovation Central opens its doors to support SME growth

The latest addition to Darlington’s business landscape, Innovation Central, has formally opened its doors with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The £8.3m building houses 45 serviced offices and five lab spaces and is designed to encourage and support the growth of start up and innovative businesses in the town. The availability of laboratory or ‘clean space’ is aimed at SMEs looking to join the success of the wider Central Park site as a growing life sciences sector hub.

Innovation Central joins a growing cluster of activity on Central Park, bringing “high-quality” jobs and higher and further education opportunities to people in Darlington and the wider region.

Councillor Jonathan Dulston, leader of Darlington Borough Council, was joined at the formal opening by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, Darlington MP Peter Gibson and representatives from North East BIC and site construction firm Wilmott Dixon.

Innovation Central is a sister site to Business Central, a few minutes’ walk away across Central Park, with both sites operated by the North East BIC. The two sites will share facilities including meeting rooms, a gym and a micro spa.

This project has been jointly funded by Darlington Borough Council, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), £3.55m from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, and the Government’s Getting Building Fund.

Councillor Dulston commented: “Growing Darlington’s economy and providing the right conditions to help businesses start up and develop is one of our key priorities as a council. Innovation Central provides a supportive environment for any small business, whether looking to take the first step in finding premises or perhaps looking to expand.

“Business Central has proved a tremendous success in terms of helping SMEs to grow and establish themselves, and with the same ethos behind Innovation Central we’re positive that new tenants can flourish in the same way.

“These are exciting times for the town, with the arrival of the Government economic campus, the revamp of Darlington Station about to begin and the continued success of Central Park and the wider town. Darlington is open for business.”

As well as the completion of Innovation Central, a complete transformation of Central Park is well underway. Work is ongoing to remediate and landscape the whole area, creating a high-quality environment with business-ready plots for future companies and investors.

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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