Liverpool welcomes £31m boost for life sciences hub and street market
At the Convention of The North conference, Michael Gove the secretary of state for levelling up, housing, and communities announced the multi-million investment package for the city.
Up to £13m of this will be spent on delivering Hemisphere One – a new eight-storey Grade A office which will include up to five floors of new labs and promote net zero principles in Paddington Village.
With Hemisphere located at the heart of the city’s 450-acre Knowledge Quarter Innovation District, the minister stated the government’s support for an “arc of opportunity” across the city to Bramley Moore Dock.
Hemisphere is a £60m project to be delivered by Sciontec, which is a partnership between the council, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, and Bruntwood SciTech.
Construction of Hemisphere is expected to begin in early 2025 and be complete by early 2027. The building has been designed by AHR Architects.
The 115,000 sq ft scheme will include 80,000 sq ft of lab space in the building’s top five floors, in line with the Liverpool City Region’s Health and Life Sciences Investment Zone vision.
Liverpool City Council set out its investment proposal to DLUHC late last year and this announcement follows the Interim report of the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel, chaired by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.
Another £13m from the investment package is earmarked to acquire sites such as Smithdown Lane Police Station, along with the remediate and masterplan phase two of Paddington Village – Paddington South.
The final £5m is set to enable an upgrade for Great Homer Street Market in Everton, which would allow for its expansion and more traders.
Gove said: “We know there is immense potential for urban regeneration in Liverpool and the wider city region.
“That is why the vision set out in the Liverpool Strategic Futures Advisory Panel report is so important. And that’s why we are backing it today it with £31m of new money for regeneration projects, which trace an arc of opportunity from the Knowledge Quarter to Bramley Moore Docks on the waterfront.”
Council leader, Cllr Liam Robinson, said: “We are delighted that the Government has endorsed our plans and is willing to invest in Paddington Village in our Knowledge Quarter. This investment will help to accelerate the city’s future as a world-leading science and innovation hub.
“This funding is also a huge vote of confidence in our vision to be one of Europe’s leading centres for research and development in the life-sciences.”
He added: “Hemisphere One is going to be a fantastic asset to the city, creating much-needed lab-based jobs for decades to come. The other tranche of funding will ensure we can develop the second phase of Paddington Village and enhance the city’s overall appeal to attract further investment and more jobs.
“In addition, the funding for Great Homer Street Market is equally welcome as this will ensure we can grow this vital community asset in north Liverpool.
“Today’s announcement is another sign of our growing relationship with Whitehall and Westminster which bodes well for further plans to grow the city’s economy.”
Colin Sinclair, chief executive of Sciontec Developments Limited and Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, said: “It is great news that Liverpool has been able to unlock additional funding for further development of its innovation infrastructure. This is a clear and deserved recognition of the enormous strides we have taken as a trailblazer in health and life sciences innovation and our potential for further success.
“The world-class laboratory and workspace created at Hemisphere will play a pivotal role in that continued success and an expanded Paddington Village will be the engine room for the delivery of wider investment zone plans for the next decade and beyond.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the government built the proposed Paddington underground station? it would help to connect this quarter to the city centre and wider region, thereby accelerating its regeneration.
By LordLiverpool
Why is there another delay.on Hemisphere ? Can PNW find out ? now starting 2025 and done by 2027. Thats seven years since the Spine completed and this is supposed to be the city’ s flagship job creating development.
By Anonymous
Excellent news for our City of Liverpool.
In past times, members of the Athenaeum share a leader input with the local politicians to advance the financial wellbeing of our Liverpool. Perhaps the present day political parties include the Athenaeum and the Liverpool Triad of Universitie to promote a return of the prosperity of former times to the great second port of the British Empire.
Hurrah Hurrah Hurrah
By Anonymous
The Tories backing Liverpool, Labour should take note if and when they get back in power, Gove is the first high ranking Tory Secretary of State for some time to speak up for Liverpool. Labour when in power only backed one horse in the North West and it wasn’t Liverpool, it’s time Liverpool voters let Labour know their votes shouldn’t be taken for granted.
By Anonymous
A whole year before construction starts on Hemisphere. Just get it built.
By Anonymous
I’m sure I’ve been reading the same article for this the past 3 years.
By Anonymous
Its delayed, I suspect, because labs are expensive to build and the rents that are currently in the market don’t justify the build costs and risk profile. Manchester would be different as there is a decent base of comps. Also, this developer won’t / can’t build speculatively so need an element of it ‘pre let’, which I suspect one of the Sciontec stakeholders will need to provide. So this funding makes the deal stack up but as its public money no doubt there are many hoops to jump through, hence the delays.
By Anonymous
I am from Liverpool and would never vote Labour again , they had done absolutely nothing for this city.
By Anonymous
“The final £5m is set to enable an upgrade for Great Homer Street Market in Everton” – yeah, great strategic scheme to transform the city that. Why didn’t they include Pall Mall within this?!
By Pall Mall
Great Homer Street Market used to be fantastic! Project Jennifer has ruined it – squashed it into a tiny area – a lot of the traders just never came back – now its being reinvested in – all very odd.
Is this what the plan is for London Road market too – see off all the traders who have been there for 5 generations then spend some money trying to revive it?
By Lizzy Baggot
At the risk of sounding churlish, the current Tory Government has form when it comes to directing praise and sometimes funding to Liverpool, for example over dealing with the pandemic, when what they are actually saying is “Back in your box, Burnham”…
By Go(ve) West
So £5m on a market selling tat in the north end is a mayoral priority? Heaven help us.
By Anonymous