December 2019
Maidstone Borough Council has awarded Rydon the contract for the construction of a new facility aspiring to be the county’s first Academic, Health and Science Centre focused environment.
The Maidstone Innovation Centre is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund 2014-20.
Located on the Kent Medical Campus, part of the North Kent Enterprise Zone, the Innovation Centre will bring together businesses and organisations involved in finding solutions to complex healthcare issues and scientific research and development.
The four storey, 37,000ft2 building – designed by Bond Bryan Architects – will provide high quality flexible office, hot desking and meeting space, conference facilities and business support for small and medium-sized enterprises working in the life science, healthcare and med-tech sectors.
Once complete, the Innovation Centre is expected to support around 270 jobs and will generate a further £120m of additional gross value added to the local economy over the next decade.
Mark Mitchener, Managing Director of Rydon Construction, commented:
“This is an exciting opportunity to use our experience to deliver the next phase of the Kent Medical Campus vision, driving further investment to its county town and beyond. We look forward to working alongside Maidstone Borough Council and Campus partners to deliver the scheme to a high quality, whilst benefitting the local economy and supply chain.”
Rydon will commence work on the project in early 2020 and the Innovation Centre will be ready to welcome its first tenants by autumn 2021.
ENDS
Notes
The project has received £5.7m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding
Kent Medical Campus is establishing itself as a fully integrated centre of excellence for health, science and education in the South East. It is already home to KIMS Hospital and Cygnet Health Care mental health facility which opened in September 2018.
The 30-acre landscaped business park has permission to develop 98,000m2 (1,000,000 ft2) of flexible and innovative commercial space, including A1, B1, C2 and D1 use classes. Once fully developed, it will provide up to 4,000 jobs.
The North Kent Enterprise Zone comprises five highly-accessible business sites across three locations in north Kent – Maidstone, Ebbsfleet and Medway, all in close proximity to London, and offers unique investment opportunities for businesses looking to expand quickly and sustainably.
More information about the Innovation Centre and Kent Medical Campus is available at https://www.kentmedicalcampus.com/
For more information or images, please contact Julie Maddocks (Maidstone Borough Council) 01622 602560 JulieMaddocks@Maidstone.gov.uk or Rowan Baker (Rydon) on 01342 827055 rbaker@rydon.co.uk
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