Member Article

Work starts on £4.2 million Teesside digital centre

Construction has started on a £4.2 million digital centre in Middlesbrough.

As reported by Bdaily in August 2013, £2m of government cash was secured to help fund the five-storey Boho Five building - the latest addition to the Middlehaven development.

Construction has now started on the vacant land between Bridge Street East and Winward Way near Middlesbrough College.

Once completed, it will provide a hub for up to 50 start-up firms on the Middlehaven site and is expected to create hundreds of jobs.

The 100-hectare site has already attracted more than £150m in investment through the development of the Middlesbrough College campus, new office space, homes, leisure facilities, bars and restaurants.

It’s expected to get a further £58m in investment over the next two years, including the refurbishment of the Transporter Bridge, (£2.6m Heritage Lottery Fund grant), a further expansion to Middlesbrough College’s facilities (£20m), a new Sainsbury’s Superstore (£35m) and a new park.

The redevelopment of Middlehaven is a long-term project, which is being delivered by Middlesbrough Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

Part of the Middlehaven plan is to support businesses of the future via the DigitalCity initiative, a partnership between Teesside University and Middlesbrough Council, designed to support start-ups in the digital and creative sectors.

The initiative has already created 537 new additional jobs, 264 new businesses, supported a further 515 businesses and attracted 12 firms to the Tees Valley.

Boho Five is being jointly funded by the Government’s regeneration body, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and the European Regional Development Fund Competitive Programme.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .