Multi-million pound funding has been secured for the expansion of a pioneering Hull tech campus.
The @TheDock development, which currently has the C4DI building at its centre, has become the beating heart of Hull’s digital and tech scene.
Plans for two new buildings on the Fruit Market site, on the corner of Humber Street and Queen Street, were approved in March.
Now, over £1m of funding has been granted by the Humber LEP to help make the vision a reality.
Developer Wykeland is also set to commit around £4m in funding to complete the project.
Lord Haskins, chair at the Humber LEP, said: “The digital and technology sector is a hugely important part of the business landscape both in Hull and across the wider Humber region.
“The region’s digital and tech sector is an enabler of our region’s future growth, as noted in our Humber Industrial Strategy proposals, which will play an important part in the Humber’s role as an international gateway.
“It is therefore extremely important to ensure we are building on existing measures to provide support for the region’s digital firms.
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“We are delighted to allocate this funding and support C4DI to expand, enabling more digital and technology start-up firms, while offering even more space for established SMEs to expand and grow.”
The Humber LEP has agreed to allocate almost £1.3m in funding to the @TheDock tech campus.
The contribution, confirmed at the LEP Board meeting on Friday, July 12, is funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, as part of its commitment to the Northern Powerhouse.
The funding will see the development of one of the two planned new blocks, with the development of a third subject to an application for European funding.
The new block will provide Grade A office space with ultra-fast gigabit fibre connections aimed at meeting the demand of the expanding C4DI and Hull’s tech sector.
It will include expanded, flexible office space ready for more established firms to move on or expand, which will free-up space in the existing block for more start-up firms to move into.
Jake Berry MP, minister for the Northern Powerhouse, said: “This government is committed to boosting economic growth across the whole of the Northern Powerhouse and building an economy which is fit for the future.
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“Backed by £1.3m of the Government’s Local Growth Fund, this further development of C4DI’s existing hub in Hull’s Fruit Market will provide space for Hull’s growing digital and technology sector to expand further and faster by proving a new base for established firms and start-ups alike.”
Once finished, the development could create 156 new jobs and will provide an additional 1,858sq.m of floor space.
A Tech Nation report in 2018 identified that within the Hull cluster, jobs in digital technology increased by 15 per cent between 2014 and 2017, with over 7,000 individuals employed.
John Connolly, managing director at C4DI, said: “The next stage of the @TheDock development will accelerate further our work helping tech companies grow and traditional businesses innovate.
“The TechNation report has highlighted the strength of the local digital sector and highlighted the region as the most cost-effective place in the country to run a tech company, thanks in part to the fantastic fibre broadband and amazing facilities available to us.
“The expansion of the @TheDock tech campus will provide the space and infrastructure to support more start-ups, encourage more businesses to relocate to the region and support the ever-growing digital needs of traditional businesses so they, in turn, become more profitable and have a greater economic impact.”
Dominic Gibbons, MD at developer Wykeland, added: “This is very good news for the exciting development of Hull as a digital centre of excellence. It also demonstrates Hull’s significance as a leading driver of the tech economy within the Northern Powerhouse.”