Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter gears up for 1m sq ft growth

A ‘blueprint for growth’ for the 450-acre district sets out plans to double down on efforts to attract the region’s high-growth sectors and become a national hub for innovation, research and development, health sciences, and robotics and AI between now and 2040.

Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter’s Vision 2024 aims to provide unwavering support for start-ups and SMEs by ironing out funding inefficiencies, as well as focusing on retaining the city’s student talent.

• Read more about KQ’s 2040 vision 

A key part of the 2040 scheme will be the eventual development of more than 1m sq ft of lab and educational space by Sciontec, the development arm of KQ Liverpool.

The Paddington Village project, on the east side of the Knowledge Quarter, will see two eight-storey buildings erected, the first – Hemisphere One – will contain chemistry labs, bio-labs, as well as write-up, and workspaces.

In total, Hemisphere One will provide 114,000 sq ft of workspace.

Grants and funding for Hemisphere One have been lined up and work is due to start this year.

Hemisphere Two, subject to planning consent, will be made up of 126,000 sq ft of incubator, grow on, and commercial lab space, and contain some of the world’s most advanced chemistry labs over its eight floors. Negotiations for a pre-let from a “world-leading project”, which is expected to zone in on the city’s robotics and AI sector, are ongoing.

According to Colin Sinclair, chief executive of KQ Liverpool, the Hemisphere project will host “materials chemistry in one building, and then AI and robotics in the other, both with a layer of health and life sciences, and bio.”

In light of the chancellor’s endorsement of a third runway at Heathrow and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, Sally Bloor, head of communications at KQ Liverpool spoke of the critical need for strong marketing of the city to attract investment.

She added that the project would benefit from all aspects of the city, including its retail, heritage, and leisure draws, stressing that all stakeholders would need to promote the city to maximise its potential to compete with well-funded national schemes.

Sinclair added that retaining talent from Liverpool’s universities and education providers is crucial to the growth plan, he said: “The talent that we bring in, whether it’s through the work of the [training provider] Agent Academy, the universities, is so important.

“That’s our promise, of inspiring young people and then employing our young people and helping them move forward.”

Capitalising on the proximity of universities and nearby start-ups is a key pillar of the Vision 2040 plan.

Sinclair added: “There is world-leading science in health, life sciences, and materials chemistry, all within a 300m circle.”

A residential block is also due to be constructed next to the Hemisphere scheme, although plans remain at a very early stage. In addition, a 1,250-space multi-storey car park, owned and operated by Liverpool City Council will be constructed a minute’s walk away from Hemisphere.

The car park’s ground floor will house a highly efficient energy centre, which will generate and distribute heat for the whole of the 30-acre Paddington Village site.

Andrew Lewis, chair of KQ Liverpool and Liverpool City Council chief executive, said: “We want to create an innovation generation, supporting new skills in our local communities, highlighting the many incredible innovations that happen here in KQ Liverpool, and encouraging future generations of science and technology pioneers to call Liverpool their home.

“We can be proud of the innovation ecosystem and partnerships we have created here in Liverpool, bringing high-quality jobs and investment into the city centre, through spin-outs, SMEs, multinationals, and global investors who see the enormous potential of KQ Liverpool as a place to do business and create long-term opportunities.”