Design team appointed for £13.2m Samlesbury Innovation Hub

A professional design team has been appoint to work in partnership with Lancashire County Council to deliver the £13.2m Innovation Hub at the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone.

This appointment marks a major milestone in the delivery of the project and signals clear progress as the scheme moves from concept into detailed design and delivery.

The Innovation Hub will support businesses in advanced engineering, manufacturing, science, technology and cyber sectors, in line with the site’s Local Development Order adopted in October 2024.

It will build on Lancashire's existing strengths and will act as a catalyst for collaboration, innovation and business growth within the Enterprise Zone.

The project is a key part of the Lancashire Growth Plan, supporting the county’s ambition to grow high-value sectors, increase productivity, attract investment and secure high quality jobs for local communities. It will build on Lancashire’s established strengths in aerospace, advanced manufacturing and cyber capability.

MAKE NW– Project Management and Quantity Surveying, AEW– Lead Architectural Services, Stantec– MEP and Civil & Structural Design, Anderton Gables– Principal Designer and Health & Safety Consultancy and WFST– Fire Engineering Design will make up the team.

Alongside the design work, Lancashire County Council and MAKE NW are developing a framework to appoint a managing operator for the Innovation Hub. An Expression of Interest exercise carried out in October 2025 gathered market feedback and helped shape options for how the facility could be operated.

This approach is intended to ensure the Innovation Hub is commercially focused and ready to support occupiers from opening.

The project team is now preparing tender documentation to invite formal proposals from potential managing operators.

Simon Lawrence, director of growth and property at Lancashire County Council, said: “Appointing the design team is a major step forward for the Samlesbury Innovation Hub. It means we can now move into the next phase of turning the vision into a deliverable project.

"More importantly, it puts us on track to create a flagship facility that will help position Lancashire at the forefront of high-value innovation, skills and productivity growth, in line with the ambitions set out in the Lancashire Growth Plan.”

The project is expected to move into planning and operator procurement during 2026, with construction to follow once these stages are complete.

The Innovation Hub will be up to 30,000 sq ft and will offer a mix of high-quality office space, collaboration areas and event facilities.

It is being designed to bring businesses, industry partners, education institutions and specialist practitioners together in one place, supporting SME’s to access emerging industries while providing the county’s cornerstone businesses with flexible space to support growth.

The building will also allow for future adaptability, including the potential for, laboratory-enabled space to support future innovation-led uses and emerging sector needs.

Once complete, the Hub is expected to attract new investment, support high-growth businesses and create high-quality jobs across Lancashire.

The project builds on the previously announced funding package of £7.2m from Lancashire County Council and £6m from the Lancashire County Combined Authority.