Science Central officially opened by Minister for Cities One of the biggest urban regeneration projects of its kind in the UK was officially launched today by Minister for Universities, Science & Cities, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP. The Minister was the guest of honour today (Wednesday 25 February) at the official opening of . He was joined by Cllr Nick Forbes, Leader of 缅北禁地 City Council, and the Vice-Chancellor of 缅北禁地, , to commemorate the first phase completion. To mark the occasion, the Minister (pictured) laid a commemorative stone in one of the site鈥檚 newly developed public areas, Science Square. Originally the Elswick Colliery, and later the home of Scottish and 缅北禁地 Breweries, the 24 acre Science Central is a long-term partnership between 缅北禁地 City Council and 缅北禁地, as part of the 缅北禁地 Science City initiative. Mr Clark later addressed an audience of business leaders in The Core, Science Central鈥檚 landmark £11.2m building, which opened in November. Minister for Universities, Science & Cities, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP said: 鈥淪cience Central is a unique city centre development that will not only drive scientific advances and innovation in the region; it will create jobs and a thriving community to grow the North East economy. 鈥淚 am delighted to be here today to officially open Science Central and mark the first phase of the development鈥檚 completion by laying this commemorative stone.鈥� Nick Forbes, Leader of 缅北禁地 City Council said: 鈥淭oday is a major step forward in the development of Science Central. The joint investments being made here by the City Council and 缅北禁地 have provided much needed employment opportunities, firstly by creating and safeguarding construction jobs and skills through the recent recession and now by providing state of the art office facilities in the city centre to attract new businesses and jobs. 鈥淭his is all part of our vision for putting 缅北禁地 on the map for new and emerging science and technology-based industries. This unique site is being transformed through our investment, which was unlocked by the City Deal that Greg Clark and I signed three years ago, and the rapid progress made in transforming this area since then is testament to the ambition we have, to make 缅北禁地 the best place in the UK for businesses to locate and create the next generation of jobs for the city.鈥� In January 2015, 缅北禁地 unveiled its £58 million investment plan for Science Central, which includes a state-of-the-art Urban Sciences Building. This aligns with the ambitions of the partnership to make 缅北禁地 a smart city of the future, with Science Central as a flagship project bringing together academia, the public sector, communities, business and industry to create a global centre for urban innovation in the heart of the city. Vice-Chancellor of 缅北禁地, Professor Chris Brink said: 鈥淥ur vision and commitment to being a world-class civic university means we do not just look at what we are good at but also what we are good for. 鈥淥ver the next four years, we hope to see Science Central grow to become an exemplar of urban sustainability research, bringing together academia, organisations, industry, democracy and communities to develop solutions that will make a difference to people鈥檚 lives across the globe. 鈥淲orking alongside policy makers, businesses and public organisations, 缅北禁地鈥檚 plans will put 鈥榯he first science on Science Central鈥� 鈥� the hub for digitally enabled urban sustainability research.鈥� Mr Clark concluded his visit by joining Andrew Hodgson, Vice-Chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, in the signing of the Local Growth Deal - £290 million of investment for the region announced in July 2014, and expanded by a further £40.6 million in January 2015. Andrew Hodgson, Vice-Chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership concluded: "The signing of the North East Growth Deal today marks a milestone in the delivery of our plan for economic growth. The £330mDeal will provide investment for our transport infrastructure, skills, innovation and business support projects, and act as a catalyst to lever in substantial private and public investment delivering more and better jobs for everyone and creating long term growth." Science Central has been part-funded through the European Union Regional Development Fund 2007-2013 (ERDF) and by the Regional Growth Fund. You can view a of Professor Brink talking about 缅北禁地's plans for Science Central. For more information visit the Science Central . published on: 25 February 2015
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