Research & Development
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Urban Regeneration
Creative Quarter Royal Leamington Spa
Regeneration of the old town of Royal Leamington Spa to develop a new Creative Quarter, with a particular focus on the booming video games industry as well as other creative and digital industries, providing space and the urban lifestyle that is key to further expansion of one of the UK’s leading creative clusters.
A partnership is in place to both deliver projects and to encourage investment in the area of south Leamington Spa, known locally as Old Town.
This is planned to be delivered both through direct investment from the local authority and its development partner on Council owned sites and further development by third party investors and developers as part of a coordinated initiative.
There are opportunities for new creative offices and mixed use schemes to service buoyant demand from the creative sector, where demand currently considerably outstrips supply. The town is known as ‘Silicon Spa’, due to its UK leading video games development cluster, including both blue-chip companies and a large network of smaller creative businesses.
The promoter is seeking funders, investors and occupiers for a range sites and developments in the area.
Key facts
• Value: £50m+ GDV
• Timescale Phase 1: Construction to begin in spring 2021
• Delivery Timescale: 2020 – 2028
Opportunity location
Why invest in Coventry and Warwickshire?
Talent, creativity, connectivity and culture are driving local development across Coventry & Warwickshire – a dynamic region in the UK Midlands.
With a 1,000-year history, we are looking to the future with local development being driven by cutting-edge technology.
Engineering and design expertise, combined with state-of-the-art research, led by the area’s two internationally respected universities, has seen it emerge as a forerunner in the development of the next generation of EV and connected autonomous vehicles. Key developments include, plans for a new 500,000sqm+ West Midlands battery ‘gigafactory’ , 37ha of employment land for manufacturing south of MIRA Technology Park and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (a £130m strategic investment in the UK battery supply chain).
Culture and creativity are also proving a strong catalyst for investment. Coventry as the UK City of Culture in 2021and 2022 has seen a national cultural focus on the city and the visitor economy and later this year the region will play a leading role in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Coventry & Warwickshire is also home to one of the largest video game development clusters in the UK, employing over 3,000 people, anchored around Leamington Spa which equates to over 10 % of the UK workforce located here and will form a key part of the new Leamington Creative Quarter project.
Insight for investors
• Type of Investment Sought: Funding and development opportunities
• Value and cost info: £50m+ GDV
• Timescale: Phase 1 Construction to begin in spring 2021
• Delivery Timescale: 2020 – 2028
• Planning Status: Existing employment and mixed use sites. Masterplan approved for the regeneration area with detailed consent on phase one. Consent required on future phases – some are allocated.
