THE flagship Daresbury science campus is a leading contender for a £20m funding boost under David Cameron’s “go for growth” strategy unveiled yesterday.
The business park, on the edge of Warrington, is in line to become part of a network of elite Technology and Innovation Centres (TICs), to ensure bold ideas get from “drawing board to the market place”.
The Prime Minister pledged a total of £200m for around ten TICs – probably one in each region – where hi-tech firms will be given help to develop world-class scientific research.
Sources suggested Daresbury, home to the ground-breaking Daresbury Laboratory, the Cockcroft Institute and 100 hi-tech companies, was an obvious choice for the North West.
But the news emerged as Mr Cameron was warned his Government’s £81bn of spending cuts could make the North-South divide wider.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) made the claim arguing job losses and benefit reductions will savage Northern communities, while capital projects, such as Crossrail and the Tube upgrade, will help the South.
Other contenders to be the North West’s TIC include the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry (KCMC), a “virtual centre” combining cutting-edge research at universities in Liverpool, Manchester and Bolton.
