Plans have been submitted for a new £18 million skills and innovation centre at a town’s business park.
If approved, the proposals would see the 3,117sqm centre built on land at Gateway 14, Stowmarket’s business park, owned by Mid Suffolk Council.
The reserved matters application, the fifth of its kind for the site, contains details about the centre’s appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale. It followed an initial outline planning approval, looking at the principle of the development, granted by the council’s planning committee in November 2021.
More recently, the centre secured £18.8 million in investment to ensure its delivery, £16.66 million by way of Freeport East and the rest contributed to by the council.
Cllr James Patchett, representing Stow Thorney, called for ultra-fast electric chargers to be included in the plans but welcomed the design of the centre, in particular the use of solar panels, heat pumps, solar thermal technology, and rain water harvesting.
He said: “I welcome the skills and innovation centre to the Gateway 14 site and Stowmarket, as the ward councillor for Stow Thorney I am excited to see it open and I truly believe it will be of great benefit to the town and its residents.
“The skills and innovation centre needs to be a showcase of modern environmental technologies and forward thinking into the future.”
At the outline planning stage, however, the development proved controversial, with 73 objections being submitted by residents, raising dozens of concerns, including conflict of interest due to the council bringing the application forward.
With the principle of development already approved, any objections should be directed at the reserved matters being discussed.
A statement on behalf of Gateway 14 read: “The proposed Innovation and Skills Centre therefore seeks to meet the immediate and future skills needs of employers and workers in the local and wider sub-regional area and to address persistent skills gaps which will support a transition towards a higher wage economy.
“The centre is a unique proposal in that it co-locates skills and training functions with business and innovation functions to meet the bespoke needs of the area.”
Planning documents state the approval of the centre would create 120 jobs, reduce barriers to employment for local workers, increase productivity and fill gaps in green skills, digital skills, and environmental innovation.
