Construction of health innovation campus begins

Construction of No.1 Birmingham Health Innovation Campus (BHIC) in Selly Oak is underway, marking a major milestone for the region 's rapidly growing life sciences sector.

The development of No.1 BHIC forms the first phase of a ten year masterplan for the Campus being developed by Bruntwood SciTech (a 50-50 joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General) in partnership with the University of Birmingham.

Due to complete in September 2023, No.1 BHIC will provide 133,000 sq ft of specialist office and lab space for innovative life science and digital healthcare companies, in response to increasing demand for space from the sector.

It will also house the University of Birmingham 's Precision Health Technologies Accelerator and Birmingham Precision Medicine Centre and provide access to a range of amenities including event space, cafe, car parking and EV charging facilities.

BHIC is a designated Life Science Opportunity Zone and has also been identified by the Department for International Trade as a High Potential Opportunity for Data Driven Healthcare.

The campus will be closely aligned to the University of Birmingham clinical trials facility offering companies located at No.1 BHIC access to a fully connected clinical trials translation ecosystem.

When complete the campus will provide up to 657,000 sq ft of new commercial lab and office space and is expected to catalyse the growth of the region 's life science sector, creating up to 10,000 local jobs and contributing £400m GVA to the region 's economy.

Kath Mackay, director of Life Sciences, Bruntwood SciTech said: “The West Midlands is already home to more than 17,000 jobs in the life sciences sector, supporting 600 companies.

“What draws these businesses in is the ability to leverage an end-to-end supply chain on their doorstep.

“This goes right from clinical trials, with the largest healthcare market outside of London alongside a leading cluster of clinical and academic institutions, to the manufacture and logistics of treatments, equipment and technology.

“Add to this an annual cohort of 11,000 medical sciences graduates and the busiest start-up scene outside of the capital, and the potential future growth the Birmingham Health and Innovation Campus can help to unlock is significant. ”

Professor Tim Jones, Provost and Vice-Principal of the University of Birmingham, explained: “One of our core missions is to deliver 'research that matters ' - achieving outcomes that can achieve lasting, transformative impact.

“By developing BHIC and establishing our Precision Health Technologies Accelerator, we will enable talented researchers and forward-thinking industry partners to be even more productive and successful, translating their ideas for new drugs, devices and diagnostics into validated innovations which can quickly be adopted in clinic.

“By creating a state-of-the-art environment for researchers and entrepreneurs to flourish, with a strong emphasis on knowledge sharing and collaboration, we will deliver life-changing benefits to patients and sustainable growth to our region and beyond.

Planning permission for No.1 BHIC was granted in April 2021. Agents include Savills and CBRE.

No. 1 BHIC is due to complete in September 2023. The entire BHIC development is expected to be completed by 2031.