Uni of Liverpool plans £111m Paddington South facility
The university is forging ahead with proposals for a purpose-built, 100,000 sq ft chemical science building within the next phase of the Knowledge Quarter.
The University of Liverpool has confirmed to Place North West that plans to locate its Artificial Intelligence Materials Hub for Innovation, or AIM-HI, within Sciontec’s Hemisphere Two – a 100,000 sq ft labs building – had been pulled.
Instead, AIM-HI will now be situated within a different, 100,000 sq ft university facility due to complete in 2031, it has been confirmed.
The scheme is the first building proposed at Paddington South, which incorporates land that previously accommodated the Smithdown Police Station and is earmarked as the site of the next phase of development within the 450-acre Knowledge Quarter.
Liverpool City Council owns this site and has cleared the former police station to pave the way for future development. The city council has been working on a masterplan for the site in partnership with the university, which said earlier this year the nine-acre site offered “exciting” opportunities for development.
A change of tack
In March, it was announced that AIM-HI was the first organisation to commit to Hemisphere Two – one of two yet-to-be built lab/office buildings at Paddington Village, part of Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter.
University of Liverpool vice-chancellor Tim Jones reaffirmed its commitment to AIM-HI at an event marking the launch of the institution’s 2040 strategy this week, where he teased plans for the chemical sciences building at Paddington South.
“This is a bold and forward-looking initiative to unlock the full potential of AI in advanced materials discovery,” he said.
“The University of Liverpool is a global leader in AI-driven materials research and industry collaboration, as demonstrated by the success of the Materials Innovation Factory.”
AIM-HI could lead to the creation of “900 high-value jobs across the UK and generate more than £400m GVA”, according to the university’s estimates
Jones added: “AIM-HI represents the next step in our mission to accelerate materials science innovation, drive regional and national economic growth, and support the UK’s transition to net zero. We are determined to put Liverpool – and the UK – at the forefront of the global AI revolution in materials discovery.”
The chemical sciences facility at Paddington South is not the only large-scale development the university is planning. A £550m health innovation campus is planned on the site of the former Royal Hospital.
At Paddington Village, where The Spine, a hotel, and a multistorey car park have been delivered so far, Sciontec remains committed to delivering on its Hemisphere plans.
The city council is also in talks with the affordable housing partnership Habiko, comprising Muse, Homes England, and Pension Insurance Corporation, about delivering roughly 300 homes there, as first reported by Place North West.
