Funding approved and work starts on £17.8m Sci-Tech Daresbury developmentSci-Tech Daresbury

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has announced an £8.4m investment in Project Violet, the next stage of development at Sci-Tech Daresbury, which will create, or support, 332 full-time equivalent jobs.A £2.5m loan from the Urban Development Fund, together with £5.9m from the combined authority’s Chrysalis Fund, provides cornerstone funding for Project Violet at the world-class location for hi-tech business and leading edge science.Lead contractor Willmott Dixon has officially begun work on the £17.8m Project Violet development, which will comprise 42,000 sq ft of speculative Grade A office and innovation space, coupled with the highest energy efficiency standards, for dynamic, forward-thinking science and technology focused businesses.The project will encompass two buildings (V2 and V3) providing 12,000 sq ft each and one building (V1) of 18,000 sq ft.Each building will provide floor plates of around 4,100 to 6,150 sq ft and as part of the work there will be major landscaping improvements around the Sci-Tech Daresbury campus.The progression of the Project Violet development underlines the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint venture’s commitment to the future prosperity of the Liverpool City Region and wider North West through meeting the market demand for high-quality workspace for high growth science, technology and innovation-led businesses that are attracted to the area’s unrivalled ecosystem of private and public sector business support, academia and transport connectivity.The project is set to complete by the end of 2021.The development is funded using the Enterprise Zone retained business rates and investment from the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint-venture.Funding provided by the LCR Urban Development Fund is backed by the 2014-2020 ERDF England Operational Programme and it is a new funding route to foster smart, sustainable and inclusive growth for the Liverpool City Region.Chrysalis is supported by the 2007-2013 European Regional Development Fund for the North West under the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas (“JESSICA”) programme.Designed by Seven Architecture, the new complex is situated at the gateway of the campus next to Keckwick Lane and Innovation Way.