The 240 tonnes of steel work is going up to form the frame for the £12 million Pool Innovation Centre in West Cornwall.
Work on the steel frame started earlier this month and will take six weeks to complete. This will give people their first view of the scale of the Centre which is two storeys on the road side and three storeys on the side next to Cornwall College.
The Pool Innovation Centre has been developed by a partnership of Cornwall Council, Cornwall Development Company, the South West RDA and CPR Regeneration, the urban regeneration company for Camborne, Pool and Redruth. The current work on the project is mainly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Convergence Programme.
Andrew Mitchell, Economy Portfolio Holder for Cornwall Council, said: “It is good to see the project coming along so well. The Council will be managing the Centre and the building looks set to be a great place for new business start ups and others wanting to grow their company in a supportive environment.”
Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: “The Pool area is recognised as a priority for Convergence investment and this development illustrates perfectly the kind of high quality workspace that we need to provide to encourage further commercial investment to help realise the potential of businesses in Cornwall.”
Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of CPR Regeneration said: “This is the start of the many projects planned to help develop Pool into a place where people can and will want to set up new innovative businesses. The Pool Innovation Centre will help to change the perception of the area and support the regeneration of Pool around the planned Heartlands Park into a vibrant place with better services and more amenities for local people.”
Thelma Sorensen, chairman of the Cornwall Business Partnership, remarked: “It is really good to see such an exciting building starting to take shape. This should help us to nurture new business talent in the area and help young ambitious businesses to thrive and expand.”
Since starting in January, Sir Robert McAlpine and their sub contractors have completed the diversions of the gas, electric, water and sewer pipes which ran across the site. The foundations of the building have been cast and the car park area has been made ready for its stone filling.
After the steel frame is complete the building will be clad in locally sourced slate and western red cedar and will be water tight by the autumn in readiness for opening next year.
