The government has approved Kirklees Council’s proposals for the new West Yorkshire Life Sciences Investment Zone.
The news continues to build on billions of pounds of planning investment across Huddersfield, including major transformative projects such as the council’s Huddersfield Blueprint, the Transpennine Route Upgrade and further government regeneration funding.
In November last year, the government announced a new ‘Investment Zone’ for Kirklees and wider West Yorkshire, which will focus on supporting innovation in the health, wellbeing and digital industries.
This means that alongside other local authorities across West Yorkshire, Kirklees Council is set to receive government investment to boost innovation, productivity and growth, and support the commercialisation of important research in these areas.
This investment is because the government has recognised Kirklees and wider West Yorkshire as being a region of ‘high potential’. Since the funding was announced in November, Kirklees Council has been working closely with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to provide the government with a detailed business plan for the funding.
The council’s plans for the Investment Zone will build on Kirklees’ existing local strengths in innovation and research, and will aim to help develop a strong cluster of interconnected businesses, suppliers and local research institutions, extending beyond Kirklees to other Investment Zone sites across Kirklees, Bradford and the rest of West Yorkshire.
The proposals Kirklees Council put forward centre on its Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor – a scheme of work that’s all about boosting economic development in Huddersfield, creating new opportunities for businesses to grow and develop, and more high quality jobs for local people. This corridor stretches from Huddersfield Railway Station to the John Smith’s Stadium, anchored by the new National Health Innovation Campus (NHIC).
The NHIC is a transformative project led by the University of Huddersfield, which is set to improve health outcomes and lead innovation in healthcare for the north of England, the UK and internationally.
The new campus will deliver a mix of world-class research, teaching and public health facilities, including clinical diagnostics, skin integrity and infection prevention.
The Investment Zone programme will speed up work on the NHIC, and bring forward other sites for potential investment within that area to attract more businesses looking to colocate and benefit from links to the campus. Kirklees Council will also be investing in key infrastructure to unlock barriers to development, and improving links for pedestrians and cyclists across the area.
Revenue funding will also provide more business and innovation support for organisations in the health and digital sectors.
This support will build on some local programmes which have already received government funding, including the university’s Health Innovation Partnership and ‘Thrive’ – a new programme to support brand new businesses and entrepreneurs in the health and wellbeing industry, which is kicking off in April.
Thrive will be based at the Glass Box, the flagship business centre for Business Kirklees (the council’s business support service), which sits right next to the NHIC. Both of these projects are already funded by the government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Councillor Cathy Scott, Leader of Kirklees Council, says: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be part of the health and wellbeing sector in Kirklees.
“The West Yorkshire Life Sciences Investment Zone will allow us to build on all the fantastic research and innovation already taking place, and really put us on the map for health tech. It’s a sector where we’re already making waves, and now that these proposals have been approved we’ll be doing so much to support new innovation, to help businesses grow and thrive, and to get brand new ideas off the ground which could transform our healthcare systems in years to come.
“This is fantastic news for Huddersfield, for Kirklees, and for West Yorkshire as a whole.”
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin said: “We are creating the future of Healthtech and Digital Tech here in West Yorkshire.
“Our universities are conducting groundbreaking research, our businesses are creating cutting-edge innovations, and our people are developing the critical skills they need to make the breakthroughs of tomorrow.
“This investment will catapult our strengths to the next level as we work to build a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.”
Now that Kirklees Council’s proposals for the Investment Zone have been approved, it will continue to work closely with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to agree how each of these individual areas will move forward.
