Questions over funding for innovation centre
QUESTIONS have been raised over whether funds can be secured to build a £5.2million "innovation centre" on the outskirts of Harborough.
Harborough District Council announced in February last year that it was near to finalising a business “enterprise centre” – said to be the first of its kind in the East Midlands – with a site mooted at The Compass Point business park opposite Harborough Leisure Centre.
Much-heralded by the council, the centre would aim to attract small and medium-sized businesses to town, offering “starter unit” offices available on short-term leases to help give fledgling firms a leg-up.
But plans for the “economic hub” at Compass Point quietly slipped off the radar until hopes were revived on Tuesday this week when County Hall announced it was pledging 1.7million towards the project.
The cash from Leicestershire County Council has come from the East Midlands Development Agency which was granted the money from the Government’s Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The district council admits it still needs a further 3.3m to finance the project and critics have raised fears that the funds will be hard to find in the current economic climate.
District and county councillor Sarah Hill said: “I would be pleasantly surprised if they find the funds, but forgive me for being sceptical.”
The council said it was “optimistic” of seeing all the required funding in place by the autumn.
Airfield Farm is the council’s preferred option for the centre with other sites looked at in Lathkill Street, Northampton Road, Peaker Park off Rockingham Road, the Compass Point and Bowden Business Village near the McDonald’s roundabout.
Plans for the “enterprise centre” at the Compass Point, which involved about 10 years’ negotiating behind-the-scenes from Harborough District Enterprise, the district council, Leicester Shire Economic Partnership, East Midlands Development Agency, the county council and the Welland Sub-regional Economic Partnership, was put in jeopardy when the private sector partner pulled out.
James Briggs, chairman of Harboro Rubber and one of those who first devised the scheme in 1996, said: “I am not now directly involved as a result of changes to local government structures. The Welland SSP, which I chaired, has passed all its work onto County Hall and Harborough District Council as of the end of March.
“The project stopped briefly because the private sector partner [50 per cent funder] pulled out because of the credit crunch. However, the scheme is still alive and funding is being sought to complete the project.”
David Camp, commercial director at William Davis which is developing the Airfield Farm site, said: “We are delighted that Airfield Business Park has been selected as the preferred location for the proposed new Innovation Centre. We now look forward to working with the district council and hope to commence work on the initial feasibility stage within the next two weeks.”
District council leader Alistair Swatridge said: “This is an ideal opportunity for Harborough to develop business skills and initiatives. We have an important role to support local businesses and encourage new ones to prosper, particularly in these difficult economic times.”
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Weather for Harborough
Saturday 04 February 2012
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Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
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