Luke Hall, Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government, made the comments to mark the first steps in building the 4,500m² applied research centre at the heart of the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone in Preston, Lancashire.

“We are delighted to be backing the University of Sheffield AMRC North West with a £20 million Local Growth Fund investment,” Mr Hall commented. “This project will place Lancashire as a leader in innovation-driven, sustainable economic growth and will act as a catalyst for further inward investment.

“It will also support the creation of highly skilled jobs, bringing opportunities and prosperity to the local community.”

The flagship facility is being built using a £20m grant from the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal and extends the AMRC’s footprint across the North. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a turf cutting will be held virtually bringing together key figures involved in the major development.

Steve Foxley, CEO, University of Sheffield AMRC, said that while the ceremony will take place virtually, the new facility will have real-world impacts for the region: “We’ve taken another huge stride in realising our vision to make things better for Lancashire and for the North,” he affirmed.

“This state-of-the-art facility will keep the Lancashire region at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and technologies and support its businesses to innovate and drive up productivity, leading industry towards a green recovery and a smart, sustainable and resilient future.”

Professor Koen Lamberts, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield, added: “The University of Sheffield AMRC has a long history of driving manufacturing and productivity growth in the Sheffield City Region and we’re really proud to be sharing our world-leading expertise and experience in Lancashire.

Even before the first spade hit the dirt for the new facility, the creation of a high-performing technical R&D team at AMRC North West is already having impact, having supported more than 100 small and medium sized firms across the region in the first year, and the recent announcement of a £10m funding win to put Lancashire and North West manufacturing at the cutting edge of 5G technology with the 5G-Factory of the Future programme.

Led by AMRC North West, the programme will develop a 5G industrial testbed to unlock the potential of industrial digitalisation and improve the performance of manufacturers across the North of England.

Robertson, one of the largest family-owned construction, infrastructure and support services businesses in the UK, was awarded the £11m construction contract for AMRC North West. Alongside Robertson a full design team is in place, including Cartwright Pickard Architects, Curtins Engineers, Arup, Gardiner and Theobald, and Rex Procter and Partners. Work is expected to complete during the second half of 2021.

Currently operating from an interim facility provided by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in the centre of Preston, the AMRC North West team’s permanent new home will be a gateway development on the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone which is part of the wider Lancashire Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Cluster.

The cutting-edge research centre will combine modern office workspace with a flexible high-tech workshop facility and a triple-height atrium will form the social hub of the office space where occupants can interact and exchange ideas. A ‘social heart’ space will overlook the workshop where innovation-led R&D will be carried out with a focus on digital and additive manufacturing, vehicle electrification, battery assembly and lightweighting technologies.

www.amrc.co.uk