First and Second Floors, Building 500, Discovery Park, Sandwich

​The Discovery Park Incubator project will deliver flexible, collaborative workspace in which life science start-ups and SME’s can establish their operations and grow as part of an innovative community.

The project involves the refurbishment of two floors within the East Block of Building 500 at Discovery Park, to provide around 30,000 sqft of net lettable incubator space. The new facility will include self-contained laboratory units, informal breakout and café space and shared lab support facilities.

As well as additional physical space and high-quality facilities, the Incubator will also offer a package of innovation support to tenants, encouraging collaboration between firms at Discovery Park and with higher education, and linking new and emerging businesses with the access to investment, skills and partners that they need to thrive.  

At the Accountability Board on 11 February 2022 it was agreed that GBF funding can be retained against the Project beyond 31 March 2022 for a maximum period of 6 months.

Award of additional GBF funding

A new GBF prioritised pipeline was established to support projects experiencing cost increases due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit or due to high inflation levels, or seeking to extend the original project to support further phases of an existing project was agreed by the Strategic Board in October 2022.

The project was included on the new GBF projects pipeline and the award of an additional £250,000 GBF was approved by the Accountability Board on the 27 January 2023. At the same meeting it agreed that GBF funding could be retained against the project beyond March 2022 for a maximum period of 12 months to 31 March 2023.

£85m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

The Getting Building Fund focuses on projects that can progress quickly and that will stimulate and better integrate economies in some of the most economically impacted and COVID-affected parts of the South East.

£85m of Getting Building Fund investment has been secured, enabling delivery of 45 projects across East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock.

Find out more here