Leading UK Enterprise Zone Completes Phase One of Major Development
MIRA Technology Park, the 1.75 million sq. ft. Enterprise Zone in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, has concluded Phase One of its development plan with the completion of key infrastructure at the site.
Since work began on the Technology Park in 2010, a total of £53.1m has been invested, and 440 jobs created and safeguarded. To date, a total of 118,000 sq. ft. of R&D space has been created since construction began on the site, which has helped attract some of the world’s largest automotive firms including Bosch, Aston Martin, Sanoh and Lockheed Martin.
The infrastructure – which represents £7.4 million of investment and includes new roads, roundabouts, 10km of service ducts, 5km of footpaths and cycle ways and a total of 27,000 new trees and shrubs – enables a further 500,000 sq. ft. of construction and paves the way for Phase Two of the development, which includes the East, South and Centre Sectors of the Technology Park site.
Phase One of the MIRA Technology Park development, which is part of HORIBA MIRA Ltd., has also:
- Seen a total of five new buildings completed, including a range of bespoke buildings for the likes of European Tier 1 Haldex and iconic British brand, Aston Martin
- Seen the number of companies establishing R&D activities on the Park grow to over 30, of these more than 50% are foreign direct investments (FDI) demonstrating the strong international interest
- Become one of the leading and most successful Enterprise Zones within the UK
- Created 213 man years of construction sector employment to build on-site and off-site infrastructure, including recent building works along the A5 trunk road, and the first five Technology Park buildings
George Gillespie OBE, CEO at HORIBA MIRA, said:
“We are thrilled to announce the completion of Phase One of the development of MIRA Technology Park. Over the last five years we have been focused on our vision of creating a technology cluster serving the global automotive industry and wider transport sectors. The completion of this crucial milestone signifies we are well on our way to achieving this goal. When complete, the site will be the largest Automotive Technology Park in Europe, and represent a total of £300 million of investment. We’re very much looking forward to the next stage of development, which is now well underway.”
Marcus Jones MP, Minister for Local Government, said:
“MIRA Technology Park is one of our highest-performing Enterprise Zones, so I am delighted to see further investment in a world-class resource that is at the heart of our motor industry.
“As part of our long term economic plan, the Midlands economy has the potential to grow by £34 billion by 2030, and by the end of this parliament, there could be as many as 300,000 extra jobs, and the development outlined today will play a key role in helping to deliver this.
“Completion of Phase One of the Technology Park will help MIRA become an even better place to do business, driving the research and investment that will keep it at the forefront of the automotive industry.
“Today’s new development demonstrates how, by focussing on innovation, finance and skills and developing world-class infrastructure we can create an environment in which the Midlands will cement its place as an economic engine for the whole nation.”
Phase Two of the HORIBA MIRA Technology Park development, which includes an additional 500,000 sq. ft. is now underway, with a further three buildings totalling 90,000 sq. ft. expected to commence construction this year.
It is estimated a further 2,000 high value jobs will be created at MIRA Technology Park by 2025, with a further 3,000 as a consequence in the regional supply chain.
For further information on MIRA Technology Park, please visit www.miratechnologypark.com.