Labs underway at Liverpool Science Park
Work starts this week on the 5,000 sq ft of biology grade laboratories in Liverpool Science Park's ic2 building on Brownlow Hill.
There are 4,000 people working in the life sciences sector in Liverpool and generating turnover of around £250m a year.
The five new 1,000 sq ft laboratories are designed to address the current shortage of commercial laboratories in the city.
The labs are being developed in partnership with the University of Liverpool's MerseyBIO incubator, which is currently at capacity.
The new laboratories mirror MerseyBIO's offering and the two organisations will be working in conjunction to promote the city's additional laboratory space to a national and international audience.
Chris Musson, CEO of Liverpool Science Park, said: "These laboratories enable us to diversity our offer and support the full range of organisations that make up Liverpool's commercial knowledge economy. We are meeting the market demand for bespoke purpose-built laboratory space and sending a clear message to the life sciences sector that Liverpool is open for business."
Liverpool Science Park is a joint venture between Liverpool City Council, Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool.
The project will cost £660,000 to complete and the laboratories are expected to open in spring 2011.
In October 2010 Liverpool Science Park received detailed planning approval for a third building, innovation centre 3, ic3, to increase the size of its facilities by 42,000 sq ft.
