WORK is ramping up on a £12.6m science park expansion.

Construction of a new road and associated infrastructure has officially started at NetPark.

The route, which will be more than half a mile long, will provide greater access to the growing site, based in Sedgefield, County Durham.

The project is being delivered by Lumsden & Carroll, which is part of the Esh Group that has its headquarters in Bowburn, near Durham City, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Earlier this year, Business Durham bosses confirmed ground had been broken to create the multi-million pound Explorer buildings, which will house laboratories, clean room space and offices for firms to scale up work.

Both the road and Explorer form part of a ten-year Business Durham strategy to create thousands of jobs and pump £400m into the region’s economy.

The infrastructure work was made possible thanks to a £5m grant from the North- East Local Enterprise Partnership’s (NElep) Local Growth Fund.

Business Durham, which manages NetPark on behalf of Durham County Council, also received £3.2m from NElep towards the Explorer buildings.

Councillor Carl Marshall, cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “The start of the work marks another exciting stage in NetPark’s development and we are confident even more businesses will be able to grow and flourish as a result of the expansion.”

Steve Conn, of Lumsden & Carroll, added: “We are delighted to be part of a project that will, literally, give access to innovation, new technology and skills, and ultimately drive jobs to the North-East.”

One of Explorer’s first tenants will be Ibex Innovations, which started with a small base at NetPark and now works across x-ray technology for the medical, food and industrial imaging sectors.

NetPark is already home to a number of thriving technology organisations, including Kromek, which is known for supplying US defence teams with radiation detectors to thwart acts of extremism, such as ‘dirty’ bombs.