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Colchester’s Knowledge Gateway is driving innovation and business growth in the east

The Knowledge Gateway research and technology park at the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus is going from strength to strength as it approaches its 10th anniversary.

On their doorstep, Knowledge Gateway businesses have access to 200 acres of Green Flag Award-winning parkland which has also won the UK’s People’s Choice Award five years running. Just a short walk away they also have an ‘outstanding’ nursery, campus facilities including cafes, a theatre and art gallery, and a four-star luxury hotel with conference facilities. And they have access to business support, networking opportunities and graduate and student talent, plus extensive opportunities to innovate by linking in with university-based researchers.

In January 2024 the latest £10.7m phase of Parkside at the Knowledge Gateway officially opened. Four-storey Clingoe House is located in a landmark position at the very entrance of the Knowledge Gateway making it an impressive headquarters building. Highly flexible office space is available to let from 1,873 sq ft (174 sq m) – to 32,432 sq ft (3,013 sq m).

From March 2024, the ground floor of Clingoe House became home to the pioneering Health, Wellbeing and Care Hub and the University’s Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing (IPHW). The unique Hub is the first of its kind and sees the University developing services in partnership with local integrated health boards, bringing together service delivery, research and education for the first time.

Chair of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) Sarah Dance said: “The whole Knowledge Gateway area has a great energy and buzz and this new building will provide larger spaces for growing and more established companies, complementing the ecosystem of small and new start-up companies and the expertise of the University. The University of Essex has great connections with the business community, and this is being strengthened through developments like this.”

Since opening, the Knowledge Gateway has grown into a vibrant hub for start-ups and SMEs. It is also home to the University’s Essex Start-ups team for student and graduate entrepreneurs, the hugely successful Business Engagement team which is number one in the UK for the number of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with businesses and the fast-growing angel investment platform Angels@Essex.

The Innovation Centre, Knowledge Gateway operated by Oxford Innovation is now home to dozens of innovative and technology-focused businesses. The thriving Innovation Centre provides flexible office space to rent, coworking, and spacious meeting and conferencing facilities – all of which include mentoring and strategic business support, and access to world-class research, resources and learning at the University of Essex.

The busy events programme at the Innovation Centre includes launch events for strategic regional projects such as Space East and is open to the Knowledge Gateway community and often draws in businesses from the wider region.

As Thea Goodluck from Tech Nation said: “I can’t say enough brilliant things about the Innovation Centre Knowledge Gateway – every time I visit I am so impressed and always have a super positive experience. It is a really productive and calm environment to work in, with a great team and lots of really interesting events.”

With the opening of Clingoe House, Parkside Office Village is growing. In phases one and two, long-established Parkside businesses such as Willis Palmer, Sandersons and TT Education have been joined by other innovative companies such as Above, Adauxi, Aesthetics Solutions, GP Primary Choice, Industrial Robotic Solutions, Oakpark Security, PCB Design School, and Quoox.

Since being established, Angels@Essex has helped 99 businesses secure more than £53m of investment and has been selected for the UK Government’s Investor Partnerships programme. John Stenhouse from Angels@Essex said: “We have an amazing track record for supporting innovative small and medium-sized companies to connect with investors and secure funding from Essex and across the UK. Being included in the Investor Partnerships programme will allow us to build on this success and help even more highly ambitious businesses.”

The University is worth around £584 million to the local economy, and it has been a long-term ambition to become a national centre of excellence for businesses in high-value, knowledge-based sectors linked to the University’s research expertise.

The University is involved in nearly 40 Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects, making it number one in the UK for working with businesses on KTPs. These partnerships allow companies to access University expertise to develop innovative new services and products.

Dr Rob Singh, Director of Research and Enterprise, explained: “Benefitting society through our research is part of our DNA and we have been working hard to establish an even wider range of connections to business and the public sector over the past few years.”