Planning approval for £13.2m Innovation Hub

Planning approval has been secured for the £13.2m Samlesbury Innovation Hub as Lancashire targets increased aerospace and defence investment.

The building is intended to become a focal point for collaboration between businesses, universities and research organisations, helping companies develop new products and services, strengthen supply chains, to innovate and bring new ideas to market.

The green light from planners came as Lancashire took the development to an international audience for the first time at this week’s Farnborough International Airshow.

Sitting in the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone, the Innovation Hub will provide up to 30,000 sq ft of flexible commercial space, including office accommodation, collaboration areas and event facilities for businesses operating across aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing, engineering, cyber and technology.

Attending as part of the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster delegation, hosted on the BAE Systems stand, Lancashire is using Farnborough to engage with businesses from across the aerospace, defence and advanced manufacturing sectors that are considering investment, expansion or collaboration in the UK.

In a statement Lancashire County Council said: “The approval comes at an important point in the project’s development. It means the Innovation Hub can now be presented as part of Lancashire’s wider offer to businesses looking for high-quality commercial space, access to research and innovation, and connections into an established industrial base.”

The council said the hub project also reflects Lancashire’s wider ambitions for economic growth.

The Lancashire Growth Plan identifies national security and resilience as a strategic growth priority and sets out the county’s long-term ambition to strengthen nationally important sectors by attracting investment, supporting innovation and creating high-value employment. The Innovation Hub is one of a number of projects helping to deliver that ambition. 

The latest CGI images of the Samlesbury Innovation Hub were being unveiled during the airshow, marking the next stage in the project’s development following planning approval.

Simon Lawrence, director of growth at Lancashire County Council, said: “Businesses have more choice than ever about where they invest, our job is to show why Lancashire is different.

“Planning approval for the Innovation Hub means we’re taking a project to Farnborough that demonstrates the confidence we’re placing in our future economy. It’s another example of our economic ambition and the investment being made to support businesses that want to innovate, collaborate and grow.

“But businesses don’t choose a location because of one building. They choose places with the right industrial strengths, skilled people, research capability and supply chains. Lancashire already has those advantages, and we’re continuing to build on them, including through our commitment to strengthening the county’s cyber capability as part of a resilient future economy. That’s the conversation we want to have at Farnborough.”

Prof Andrew Schofield, who chairs the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster, said: “The north west has built one of the UK’s most significant defence and security ecosystems through long-term collaboration between industry, government, universities and innovative SMEs.

“Businesses choose locations where they can access customers, suppliers, skills, research expertise and opportunities to collaborate. That’s what makes strong regional clusters so important.

“Farnborough provides an opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of capability that exists across Lancashire and the wider north west, while building relationships that support future investment, innovation and growth across the defence and security sector.”

Ian Barton, head of enterprise and entrepreneurship at BAE Systems, said:  “The Samlesbury Enterprise Zone is a natural extension of our Samlesbury site, which has delivered high-value manufacturing in aerospace and defence for decades. The Innovation Hub builds on that heritage, bringing new companies and organisations together to collaborate alongside established industry.

"This is a really positive development, expanding the value of the site and the skills we rely on to maintain our world class reputation in manufacturing, here in Lancashire.”

Planning approval for the hub has been granted through a prior notice of development application under the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone Local Development Order.

The project is being funded through £7.2m from Lancashire County Council and £6m from the Lancashire Combined County Authority.