Newcastle builds £250m tech hub to deliver 400 jobs and a £20m economic boost

The Core will be first building to open in new Science Central complex

Newcastle is opening a £250m tech hub in November 2014, that promises to boost the local economy by £20m, as well as creating 400 new jobs.

The Core will be the first building to open as part of Newcastle's Science Central project - "Newcastle's new landmark location for science, business, living and leisure" - and is intended as a site for collaboration, skill sharing and knowledge in the tech sector.

"At the crossing point between research expertise and commercialisation, businesses based here will benefit from unique access to the networks that will gain them crucial competitive advantage," says the development's blurb on its website.

Newcastle council leader Nick Forbes has already claimed that "half the building is let out" a full four months before it is due to open, which he said shows "a real demand among businesses who want to locate in Newcastle".

Forbes said the "400 high quality jobs it will create and the £20m economic boost" are "fundamental in helping [Newcastle] build a strong knowledge-based economy" that will enable the city to "compete on an international state".

Durham county council's head of ICT, Phil Jackman, recently told Computing that it is important for the North East to "do something about" what he sees as a migration of tech startups from the North East to the South East. Solutions such as Dynamo - a group of industry professionals who collaborate knowledge and resources - have the potential to work hand-in-hand with Newcastle council providing the premises for new business to thrive.

"It's about our own belief and our own ability in the North-East, and nobody is going to sort this out other than ourselves," Jackman told Computing.

The Science Central project has been in planning and development for 10 years and upon opening is expected, said project manager Paul Fallon, to "serve as a crossing point between research expertise and commercialisation".

"Businesses based here will benefit from unique access to networks that could gain them crucial competitive advantage," concluded Fallon.