The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Councillors urged to back plans for innovation district
Dundee councillors are being urged to back plans for a life sciences innovation district that could bring investment and jobs.
It is hoped an innovation district in Dundee could be centred on the current Technopole, between Hawkhill and Blackness Road.
Innovation districts are defined zones in cities where public, private and academic partners work together to attract entrepreneurs, start-ups and business incubators.
Other potential sites include land at the Medipark at Ninewells Hospital, public and privately-owned land at the city’s Technology Park and James Hutton Institute.
The plans will be put to the council’s city development committee on Monday. Councillors are asked to agree to start discussing marketing, development and governance arrangements with Dundee University, Scottish Enterprise and private sector landowners.
The aim is to assist and transform under-used areas and grow key industry sectors.
Convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee Mark Flynn said: “Life sciences is one of the most important high value growth sectors for the greater Dundee area and currently employs more than 1,700 people.
“We have an internationally recognised reputation for excellence and attracting significant venture capital into new companies.
“We want to build on this by exploring with our partners how we could create an innovation hub.
“A facility like that could offer greater opportunities for collaboration and economies of scale to accelerate commercialisation of research, attract new private sector investment into life sciences and create jobs.”
Recent developments in the life sciences sector in the greater Dundee area have attracted more than £100 million of investment from Tay Cities Region Deal and other external funding sources.
The council believes this will leverage significant private sector equity investment in spin-outs from start-ups.
It is concluding a previously agreed disposal of a site at the Technopole to Dundee University for the development of the life sciences innovation hub.
University principal Professor Iain Gillespie said: “The outstanding depth, breadth and quality of life sciences research in Dundee and the Tay Cities region is generating new companies in biotechnology, therapeutics, medical technology, informatics and artificial intelligence.
“This is happening at pace and bringing with it significant investment.
“The life sciences innovation district concept is designed to support all our private and public sector stakeholders.
“It will make our region one of the ‘go-to’ places for life sciences innovation and commercialisation.”
Scottish Enterprise director of place Elaine Morrison said the plan would “catalyse the transformation of Dundee’s world-leading life science research into new life science products and companies””