Willmott Dixon lands £11m Somerset Digital Innovation Centre

The 2,613 square-metre building will feature office, workshop, collaboration and meeting space over four storeys, as well as innovation support services targeted at digital economy businesses.Willmott Dixon has been selected by Somerset County Council to deliver a £11m Digital Innovation Centre at Firepool, Taunton.Procured using SCAPE’s construction framework, it will play a key role in Somerset County Council’s plans for the post Covid-19 recovery and transformation of the local economy, providing high-quality managed offices and workspace for home-grown start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises, while attracting new businesses and inward investment.The 2,613 square-metre building will feature office, workshop, collaboration and meeting space over four storeys, as well as innovation support services targeted at digital economy businesses. The project is funded by the county, the Government’s Getting Building Fund and the European Regional Development Fund, with further contributions from Somerset’s Business Rates Retention Fund and Somerset West and Taunton Council.The Digital Innovation Centre marks Willmott Dixon’s latest project in Somerset. During the Spring, the company handed over Somerset Energy Innovation Centre 3 near Bridgwater and the iAero Centre in Yeovil, which provides a research, design and innovation facility to support the growing aerospace sector. In May this year, the company also secured a contract to build Northgate Yard, a £16m mixed-use regeneration project in Bridgwater town centre providing a seven-screen cinema, eight-lane bowling alley and sports bar.