Cheshire East Council is looking to participate and invest in a joint venture with AstraZeneca to build a new BioScience Park at Alderley Park.
The Cabinet has agreed to allocate £1m funding in the form of a repayable loan to the not-for-profit joint venture company. This will help to establish and operate a BioScience Incubator centre to nurture and attract innovative biomedical enterprises which is expected to create 440 jobs.
The first phase of the £20m scheme will involve the construction and operation of a 5000 sqm purpose-built facility to accommodate 400 professional staff that will provide accommodation, technical facilities and business support for new and small bioscience businesses.
The companies located on the site would have access to AstraZeneca's state-of-the-art facilities as well as the experience, skills, knowledge and experience of their employees.
The Cabinet voted in favour of investing £1m towards the £20m scheme at their meeting on Monday, 7th January. The report for which stated "This project will strengthen our relationship with AZ as the Borough's largest private sector employer in both strategic and operational terms, thereby helping to ensure job retention and employment growth in our local economy.
"The direct benefits of this include the retention / increase of residents in the Borough that contribute directly to the Council through Council Tax."
As well as approaching the Council, AstraZeneca is seeking the participation of a University in the joint venture, which could add value to the project through further investment and access to a wider network in the academic and scientific community.
Last year AstraZeneca secured a £5m grant from the Regional Growth Fund to enable them to explore the development of a BioScience park at Alderley Park. With the support of the Council, AstraZeneca is also seeking funding from other sources, including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The £1m will be repaid to the Council with interest upon key triggers being achieved in the funding agreement. These are likely to relate to occupancy levels and income targets and it is expected that the £1m will be a loan to the joint venture which will be recovered in full in between five and fifteen years time.
Alderley Park project leader, Dr Chris Doherty, said: "We're very excited about the potential of this initiative and the prospects for a dynamic science cluster in the North West."
AstraZeneca is working on the due diligence required to finalise proposed plans, which will take place over the next three to six months, and further down the line the company will need to apply for planning permission.
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