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Igniting the potential of Darlington

The doors to Darlington’s £8million business centre are due to open in October, but Innovation Central is about more than good looks alone and is designed to be an inspiring place to do business.

Built to meet BREEAM sustainability credentials, its 45 Grade A offices and five labs, share the kind of bright and airy spaces that are ideal for collaboration and creativity.

And operators the North East BIC plan to use the facility to ignite the innovative potential of the entire borough.

The BIC will host an Innovation Programme, packed with events and expert support which will not only be available to tenants onsite but also extended to businesses across the Tees Valley.

“The development of Innovation Central is about more than simply creating new commercial space,” said the BIC’s CEO Paul McEldon. “It’s about creating the creative, collaborative and supportive environment where today’s innovators can truly thrive.

“Darlington has long been a centre of ingenuity and its entrepreneurial spirit will soon have an exciting new central focus in the town.”

When putting together the Diffusion of Innovation Programme, the BIC has drawn on its 28-year experience of economic development in the North East. It already operates Business Central, also on the Central Park development, as well as business parks in Sunderland and Washington and has created over 7,000 regional jobs since 1994.

The programme, due to be launched in the New Year, will cover everything from understanding the opportunity of innovation to implementing a strategy to deliver innovation.

Vanessa Wood, Centre Manager at Business Central and Innovation Central, said the sister sites will become one collaborative community, sharing the same ethos, team and facilities.

She said: “We’re really excited to see Innovation Central coming to life and to start imagining how the two neighbouring facilities can work together as one collaborative business community.

“The idea is to connect the sites as much as possible, with tenants of Innovation Central sharing all of our brilliant facilities including our gym and micro spa. The two centres are just a few minutes’ walk from one another so tenants can easily go between and make the most of everything we have to offer.

“Darlington is buzzing with entrepreneurial potential right now, with the planned move of the Treasury putting us in the headlines again. We have first-hand experience of the incredible demand for quality space for ambitious businesses so it’s exciting to be able to offer such excellent locations.”

Since opening in 2015, Business Central has supported over 200 businesses to start up and grow and the addition of Innovation Central will offer entrepreneurs more reasons to base their business in Darlington.

The new four-storey business centre will sit alongside residential, educational and other commercial developments and will be at the heart of the vibrant new community stretching over a 30-hectare site.

Workspace at Innovation Central will be available to all sectors, with office sizes ranging from 174 – 630 sqft and lab sizes from 410 – 743 sqft.

Fancy taking a look around Innovation Central for yourself? A drop-in event in October will give you the chance to do just that!

For more information about workspace or the Diffusion of Innovation Programme email enquiries@innovationcentraldarlington.co.uk

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

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by North East BIC .