£19.4 million funding to boost Leicester’s space and satellite industry
Leicester has been awarded £19.4 million from the Levelling Up Fund to develop new projects around the city’s Pioneer Park.
The funding will support space and technology businesses by:
- creating new and innovative workspace that will complement the existing Dock workspaces
- developing new opportunities for high-quality production facilities linked to space and satellite technologies
- enhancing the University of Leicester’s Science Park
- transforming the vacant Ian Marlow Centre into much-needed small light industrial units.
A boost for the region
The package of projects will benefit the region by:
- supporting the city’s burgeoning space and satellite technology cluster
- accelerating the expansion of businesses in Leicester
- attracting further investment
- creating new jobs
Leicester University President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, welcomed the success. He said:
we are particularly pleased that Pioneer Park has received a significant proportion of the funding. This will be a game-changer for ensuring that we are able to bring the benefits of the space sector to the city.
Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby said:
I’m delighted that the city’s bid for funding for the Pioneer Park scheme has been successful. The area is also home to some very forward-thinking, high-end technology and space science businesses, so being able to retain and develop that sector is a key part of the city’s post-Covid economic recovery.
Schemes such as this will help ensure that there are opportunities for skilled employment, meaning we retain skilled workers, develop high-manufacturing facilities and build on our reputation as a place which has much to offer businesses, and with good transport links to the rest of the region.
Find out more about Leicester’s levelling up projects.