Funding Secured for Corby Enterprise Centre
March 7, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
New businesses, skills and jobs are to be created in Corby following today’s announcement by North Northants Development Company (NNDC), the Urban Regeneration Company, that funding is in place to develop the £8.3m Corby Enterprise Centre.
East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is the major funder of the Enterprise Centre, putting in nearly £6.5 million to the scheme, which includes £1m from Northamptonshire Enterprise Limited. The balance of the cash comes from Corby Borough Council (c. £700k) and over £1.1m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). ERDF aims to stimulate enterprise and support the growth of successful businesses.
Following a development competition, a new site and design has been selected for the 43,000 sq ft flagship centre. It will now be located at Priors Hall, the major urban extension to the north-east of Corby, which is already home to the new £30m Corby Business Academy. It is expected that work will begin on site in late summer 2009 pending detailed planning consent.
The Enterprise Centre will be situated adjacent to the Academy in the planned employment area of Priors Hall, which has been praised by CABE* for its design philosophy. Located close to the proposed District Centre, it will be within five minutes walking distance of planned community, entertainment and retail facilities.
Bela Partnership, a joint venture between Bee Bee Developments and the Lagan Group, which is leading the development of Priors Hall, has been selected as the preferred site developer to build the Enterprise Centre. It has been designed by the Milton Keynes-based DLA Architects.
The building will provide 32,000 sq ft of lettable office, workshop and studio space. Its aspirational and environmentally-friendly design will offer start-ups and small businesses a truly flexible workspace including access to state of the art telecommunications and meeting facilities.
By providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to work within such high quality office and workshop space, it will have a major impact on the balance of the local economy, creating a significant number of highly skilled jobs in Corby.
