Construction on phase one of a state-of-the-art life science hub in Birmingham will start this summer after planning permission was granted this week.

The Birmingham Health Innovation Campus has been developed in partnership with Bruntwood Sci-Tech and the University of Birmingham and will see 657,000 sqft of science labs built in the Selly Oak region of the city over the next ten years.

The first phase (No.1 Birmingham Health Innovation Campus) is a 133,000 sqft lab/office block purposely designed for health innovation and life sciences businesses, with a focus on those working in medtech, precision medicine, biopharma and digital healthcare.   

The campus positions the West Midlands to capitalise on the UK’s emerging healthtech sector, which attracted £1.12bn in investment in 2020, according to the latest report by Tech Nation, and has already been designated a Life Science Opportunity Zone by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It has also been identified as part of the High Potential Opportunity for Data Driven Healthcare by the Department for International Trade (DIT).

David Hardman, Bruntwood SciTech – Birmingham managing director, said: “The response since announcing the development of Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, in partnership with the University of Birmingham, has been extremely positive. It’s clear that this is being seen as a real milestone in the evolution of the West Midlands as a health innovation and connected healthcare technologies powerhouse. 

“The region has all the raw ingredients the sector needs – world-class universities, a number of specialist NHS Trusts, quality infrastructure and a growing cluster of SMEs – to support the journey from early R&D to manufacture and market adoption of new health products and services. The Campus will be the epicentre where all these come together and attract further inward investment to ensure the West Midlands has one of the country’s most exciting life sciences propositions for years to come.”

The No 1 Birmingham health Innovation Campus

The building will include the home of the University of Birmingham’s Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA), providing innovation and incubation spaces for businesses to engage with academics and clinicians, bringing together capabilities in diagnostics, data, clinical trials and medical technologies. 

Companies located at Birmingham Health Innovation Campus will also benefit from high quality lab and office space, and access to a fully connected clinical trials translation ecosystem at the region’s NHS Trusts. The Campus will also offer a range of additional facilities including a cafe, indoor and outdoor event space, meeting rooms, cycle storage and car parking.

The 10-year masterplan will support the creation of over 10,000 new jobs and contributing £400m of GVA to the regional economy by 2030. 

Professor Tim Jones, University of Birmingham Provost and Vice-Principal, added: “With the UK beginning a cautious easing of Covid-19 restrictions, this announcement could not be more timely. The speed at which the University and our NHS partners were able to mobilise against the pandemic is indicative of our collaborative and innovative approach to life sciences and medical technologies – an approach which businesses working with us at Birmingham Health Innovation Campus will benefit greatly from.

“The development is set to play a major role in post-Covid economic recovery, bringing enhanced health, wealth and opportunity to the city and wider West Midlands on a scale rarely witnessed. We are greatly appreciative of the support the Campus has received from the City Council and look forward to progressing with construction.”

The development, which is due to be complete by 2023, has received funding from Birmingham City Council to support the enablement of the site. The Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA) has received £11m from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) through the Local Fund and the Government’s Getting Building Fund.