Space City Leicester Add First Net Zero-Carbon Facilities

 Leicester City Council are opening new sections to Space City Leicester effective 1st September. The new sections, Dock 3-5, feature Space City’s first net zero-carbon workspaces. Once opened, there will be 45 such workspaces (from 250 sq ft) as well as nine light manufacturing industrial units. All told, 46,000 sq ft of office space will be opening.

Space City, which is located next to the National Space Centre, focuses on the needs of downstream space industry companies as well as other “high tech, sustainability and innovation, or support companies working for such firms”. Leicester City Council report that 10% of the workspace in the new Dock sections has been claimed already. Companies such as Kazzoo IT Solutions, Somerbys IT and The VoIP Shop are among the first new tenants.

Peter Chandler, Head of Economic Regeneration at Leicester City Council, said:

“Having launched Dock 1 in 2013 and followed up with Dock 2, we’ve now been bringing Leicester’s innovation community together for over a decade. We know that a strong ecosystem is essential for these businesses to thrive, and companies who join Dock benefit from a ready-made tech and innovation community to connect with. As well as benefiting from excellent IT infrastructure and purpose-built spaces, we also deliver tailored programmes of business support, a range of networking events and offer graduate talent schemes to help support growth. We’ve run specific incubators for the space industry in the past and it’s something we’re keen to return to. At Dock, we definitely benefit from the fact that Space City Leicester is an Enterprise Zone – a designated area in England that provides tax breaks and government support. So, we’re lucky to benefit from increased government attention and funding.”

Per the press release: A community dedicated to space and earth observation, Space City Leicester is part of the Loughborough and Leicester Science and Innovation Enterprise Zone. Space City has recently launched an online presence: space-city.co.uk The partnership includes Space Park Leicester, University of Leicester, National Space Centre, Dock by Leicester City Council, and the Leicester and Leicestershire Business and Skills Partnership (LLBSP).  

The press release notes that, “As Leicestershire’s first net carbon zero workspace, the environmental impact of the development has been at the forefront. There is ample space for bikes and easy walking routes sign posted for tenants and guests. For those who need to drive, electric chargers and carparking are available.”

A track record of innovation

Space City is no stranger to innovation with Rolls-Royce, the UK Space Agency and Airbus all located in the neighborhood. Recent news includes ispace and the University of Leicester gaining funding from UK Space Agency for the development of a system to heat ispace’s moon lander during the lunar night. Project lead Dr. Hannah Sargeant hails from the University of Leicester School of Physics and Astronomy and Space Park Leicester.