Back in 2008, Salford MP Hazel Blears officially opened the Salford Innovation Forum – the huge pink building on Frederick Road in Charlestown, which is part of the Salford Innovation Park. The Park also comprises of business units on Leslie Hough Way and Winders Way which Salford Council had bought from Salford University two years earlier.
The Innovation Forum cost £7,690,5027million to build plus well over £2million in grants to `incubate' businesses, `connect with the community' and subsidise rents. All publicly funded, it's still virtually impossible to work out who paid what, for what…and why.
Funding the Forum were Salford City Council, ERDF (Europe), North West Development Agency, Salford University and Charlestown and Lower Kersal New Deal for Communities, which put in £300,000 for `community use' (see previous Salford Star article - click here).
At the opening of the Forum, Hazel Blears talked of the building's contribution to the `cutting edge vision for the future' while a press release at the time stated… "The aim is for partners and communities to pool their strengths so that the Innovation Forum will become a place to learn, think and unlock new ideas and promote socially inclusive wealth creation".
The first thing people noticed was the masses of barbed metal and cameras around the Forum's exterior making it seem the least `socially inclusive' place in Salford, while rents of around £1,000 a month were totally out of reach of any small community group.
When the Salford Star interviewed the then Council Leader, John Merry in 2008, take ups by businesses were pitiful, around 20% of capacity. `Is it not just a big pink elephant?' Merry was asked…
"No it's not a big pink elephant" Merry replied "It's magenta, anyway…"
Occupancy levels did rise over the following three years, but as soon as the grants and subsidised rents ran out, so did the businesses. This time last year the Forum was only 50% full.
Meanwhile, management of the Innovation Park had passed from Salford Council to Manchester Science Park (MSP) which was subsequently bought out by property ogre, Bruntwood plc, with Salford University also involved along the way.
Back in September last year, Salford City Mayor, Ian Stewart, signed off a new business plan, written by MSP for Salford Innovation Park (SIP) which would "take the SIP from a loss making position of -£216,000 per annum in 2013/14 to a profit of £324,000 per annum in 2015/16."
This involved chucking more of Salford Council's public money at it - £127,565 on repairs and `refurbishing five show suites' across the three buildings; plus there will be `new signage, revised marketing materials, a promotional campaign to raise awareness of the site across local media; and sponsorship of Salford focussed business events'.
The business plan was signed off last September, but a report this month to Salford Council's Resources Scrutiny Select Committee shows that the actual loss last year wasn't £216,000 as budgeted but £304,000…*
…And the `profit' for 2015-16 has been scaled down from £324,000 to £112,000, a difference of over £200,000 since last September.
"SIP will move from a loss making position of -£304,000 in 2013/14, through a loss making position of £15,000 in 2014/15 to a profit position of £112,000 in 2015/16" the new report now boldly states.
Meanwhile, SIP is currently 45% empty, and the cost of keeping SIP going last year was £731,000.
MSP states it's going to achieve its ambitious targets by cranking up its lettings agents and stuff. But one factor stands out…
"A revised customer strategy for the Salford Innovation Forum that is more accepting of diverse companies will support improved lettings."
In other words, all the hype about it being a `cutting edge vision for the future' and `a place to learn, think and unlock new ideas and promote socially inclusive wealth creation' will go out of the rose tinted glass windows.
The `Salford Innovation Forum', with its £10million of public funding, will become just another office block. Which is what most local people believed it was all along, despite the pink walls and fancy name…
* Unfortunately the report doesn't state what the losses were in years before this. The Salford Star will endeavour to find out...
Main photo by Mikey K
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