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M27 & southampton focus
Trio of transformation for Southampton
Schemes at Woolston, the waterfront and West End are set to transform Southampton further.
Work has started on the second phase of Southampton’s largest housing development bringing a new library and nursery to Woolston on the former Vosper Thornycroft site.
A new library will be built as a focal point on the corner of Victoria Road with an 80-place nursery, 152 flats and 16 three-bed townhouses. Developer Crest Nicholson Regeneration plans to complete the homes for occupation from spring.
Southampton City Council has also approved a further 329 flats, a 60,000 sq ft food store bringing 225 jobs plus other shops, bars and restaurants around a civic square at the £500 million Centenary Quay development. Work will also begin to open up the waterfront to the public. More than 1,600 homes are planned in total, including three landmark apartment towers along the banks of the River Itchen.
Further along the M27, the redevelopment of Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl cricket ground has been approved after Eastleigh Council agreed to invest £38.5m in the scheme. The council intends to recoup a profit from rent paid by tenants, including the cricket club and a Hilton Hotel.
Despite some opposition about investing taxpayers’ money, the plans are an integral part of a £48m revamp of the venue to make it the UK’s second largest Test ground. The purchase will allow the development of a four-star hotel and conference centre. Independent experts have estimated that the scheme, once completed, will be worth £55m a year to the local economy and create up to 500 jobs.
Council leader Keith House commented: “This is a significant scheme for the borough and it is important that we have taken the time to ensure outstanding issues have been resolved. I look forward to the start of work on site as soon as possible, so that people and businesses can begin to enjoy the benefits of this investment.“
3D printing facility to be installed
The installation of a new, rapid prototyping facility at the University of Southampton is set to transform engineering design and teaching activities and better equip students for employability in a changing world.
Rapid prototyping, or 3D printing, is regarded as the third industrial revolution in manufacturing. It has been widely accepted as a modern product design, which provides greater design freedom, faster design process, more efficient materials usage and tool-less manufacturing.
3D printing works by converting 3D CAD engineering drawings into solid objects from nylon powder using laser melting. The object is built, layer by layer, with each layer the thickness of a human hair. It allows designers and engineers to create complex and lightweight parts rapidly.
Engineering and the environment researchers at the University have embraced the techniques and produced a number of world firsts, including the first 3D printed plane and first fully rapid prototyped air vehicle.
The installation of the new £300,000 state-of-the-art facility will significantly enhance undergraduate engineering degree programmes at all levels. Students will be able to use their theoretical and practical
www.businessmag.co.uk
Entrepreneurial talent supported by new initiative
The University of Southampton Science Park has unveiled a new initiative, developed in association with SETsquared, to support and reward entrepreneurial talent in the South East through a comprehensive, tailored programme of mentoring and support which will provide these individuals with all the tools they need to turn a high-quality, high-tech idea into a viable business proposition.
The new Catalyst Centre provides individuals who have an exceptional high-tech business proposition with the chance to win a six-month residency in the centre, including free desk and meeting space, a comprehensive programme of mentoring and business development support, and up to £1,000 towards business expenses.
Entries are now open and close on September 14, and interested parties should visit www.
usspcatalystcentre.org.uk for further information, and to submit their entries. Selected participants will be invited to pitch their proposition to the judging panel, and following the pitch process, up to seven individuals will be invited to take up places in the Catalyst Centre with immediate effect.
Chief executive of the Southampton Science Park and Catalyst Centre judge Peter Birkett said: “The Centre will allow individuals with brilliant ideas to thrive in an innovative and supportive environment. We hope this initiative will not only allow businesses to grow and develop but also inject added energy into the local economy.“
On conclusion of the six month period, there will be a graduation event, where each business will present to the judging panel and invited guests. Following successful completion of the Catalyst Centre process, the best businesses will be considered for entry into the Setsquared Business Acceleration programme.
Event offers insight into business with India
Andy Ure, second year MEng Aeronautics and Astronautics student, uses the new facilities
knowledge to create designs, have them printed off within a few hours and walk out of the lab physically holding what they have designed.
Simon Cox, associate dean, enterprise, in the faculty of engineering and the environment, said: “The ability to take designs from a CAD workstation to fully-functional prototypes is truly inspirational and brings together the excellence and passion of University staff to create a distinctive Southampton engineering experience.“
While most companies realise they should be exploring how they can do business in India, many do not know where to start and are daunted by the distance. An insight into the realities of doing business in India was offered to business leaders at an event held at the Ageas Bowl, hosted by the Southampton India Business Network (SIBN) in conjunction with Business Solent.
Adrian Mutton, from Sannam S4, is based in New Delhi and has been helping companies enter the Indian market for many years. He highlighted a CEO of a UK-based SME who told his board the company either “managed the slow decline of business in Europe or expanded into new markets like India where there is a real need and genuine demand.
“India is not an emerging economy. It is a re-emerging giant, having been the world’s largest economy for 496 of the past 500 centuries,“ Mutton said.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – SEPTEMBER 2012
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