Balfour Beatty is expected to be named main contractor on a £200 million commercial and technology park development in Derby that will focus on engineering innovation and house 8,000 technical staff.
Work will start in April on the 250 acre Infinity Park Derby site where joint developers Wilson Bowden and Miller Birch are providing 1.5 million sq ft of mixed commercial space, including offices, industrial, leisure facilities and shops.
The 250 acre park is jointly promoted by a partnership including Derby City Council, Rolls Royce and the Harpur Crewe Estate. Centrepiece of the development is an £11.8 million Innovation Centre which has been let as a separate contract to GF Tomlinson, on which work is to start shortly.
The Innovation centre is a joint venture between the universities of Derby, Aston and Cranfield and aims to promote easy access to leading edge academic research and development for companies in the region. The site is adjacent to the Rolls Royce factory at Chellaston and the metal clad, curvilinear design is said to reflect the area’s history of transport engineering.
Infinity Park is partly funded from Derby’s £40 million grant from the Regional Growth Fund which supports Derby’s ambitions to become a UK centre for innovation. News of the expected contract award to Balfour Beatty was circulating at MIPIM, the international property show in Cannes where Derby has sent a delegation to try and attract investment to the area.
The delegation includes Derby council officers, Rolls Royce and the University of Derby who made a presentation to an audience of property investors, one of only three cities – the others being Barcelona and Turin - invited to do so.
Pictured: An artist's impression of the £11.8 million Innovation Centre
© Franklin Ellis Architects 2013
