Local Growth Minister to Visit New University Developments
Communities and Local Growth Minister Andrew Percy MP will be in Lincoln today (Thursday 9th March) to view the developments taking shape on and around the University of Lincoln campus.
His visit will coincide with the announcement by the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid of almost £30 million of further funding for Greater Lincolnshire projects in the third round of Growth Deals. (See separate news release.)
One project which will benefit from new Growth Deal money is the university’s new Centre for Health Science, which Mr Percy will hear about during his visit.
The MP for Brigg and Goole and the Isle of Axholme will also tour the newly completed Boole Technology Centre at the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, visit the Joseph Banks Laboratories and hear about the university’s aspirations for a new Advanced Engineering Centre extension.
He will be shown round the facilities by Herman Kok and Ruth Carver from the Greater Lincolnshire LEP and Professor Andrew Hunter, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Lincoln.
Professor Hunter said: “We are delighted to welcome Andrew Percy MP to the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park to demonstrate how Growth Deal funding through the Greater Lincolnshire LEP is driving strategic investments here in the industrial heart of Lincoln.
“The science park, a joint venture between the university and Lincolnshire Co-op, has been developed in close collaboration with industry to meet specific needs for skills, R&D capacity and commercial space, delivering strong, sustainable economic growth.
“More than 1,000 science students study in our Joseph Banks Laboratories, where research teams are pursuing world-class research in a variety of fields, from new drug development to the molecular basis of disease. The new Boole Technology Centre now provides space for innovative, high-tech companies to co-locate and grow and has just welcomed its first tenants.
“The latest round of Growth Deal funding will underpin further investments in science and engineering, supporting plans for a new Advanced Engineering Centre for collaborative research with commercial partners such as Siemens and for a new health science centre, which by providing a cutting-edge new home for our Lincoln Institute for Health marks an important step towards our ambition of one day establishing a medical school for Lincolnshire.”
Mr Percy is due to arrive at the Boole Technology Centre at 11.15am on Thursday 9th March. Reporters and TV crews can accompany him on the tour, which is due to end at 12.05pm, when Mr Percy will take questions from the media.
If you would like to attend please advise Jez Ashberry by emailing jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk or by calling 07780 735071.
Parking is available at the Boole Technology Centre on Beevor Street.
Notes to Editors:
• The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership is a private and public sector partnership led by the private sector which aims to improve conditions for infrastructure and doing business in the Greater Lincolnshire area.
• One of the first LEPs to be established in the UK, the Greater Lincolnshire LEP covers a large geographical area with a population of over one million and a diverse range of industries, from ports and logistics to farming, tourism and engineering.
• It includes North and North-East Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire and is controlled by a LEP board made up of leading figures in the public and private sector.
• Visit www.greaterlincolnshirelep.co.uk for more information.
• To find out more about Andrew Percy MP visit: http://www.andrewpercy.org/.
For media information please contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
[LEP139andrewpercy]
