A DECADE after the site of a former hospital was transformed into science and technology hub NETPark, Business Editor, Andy Richardson asks if County Durham’s field of dreams has delivered real economic benefit to the region

BUILD it and they will come, is the basic ethos behind all business parks.

Fittingly, for a site that aimed to tap into the burgeoning knowledge-driven economy, there was also a spark of scientific thinking behind the establishment of NETPark, which this week celebrates its tenth year as an innovation hothouse.

Proponents for a specialist business park in County Durham voiced concerns that a gap in the regional infrastructure had left the North-East vulnerable to a brain drain of talented graduates.

NETPark (North East Technology Park), positioned midway between the region’s five universities, would provide a place for these graduates to stay on after their studies and turn their ideas and research into commercial enterprises.

The broader target was to take a lead in industries of the future, including digital, nanotechnology, renewable energy, life sciences and the latest developments in the chemical process sector.

Durham County Council leader Ken Manton said at the time: "People in the North-East have got to realise that we have got to move away from metal bashing as the basis of our economic growth.”

Located on land once occupied by Winterton psychiatric hospital in Sedgefield, the park was inspired by a project set up in the US during the late 1950s.

Research Triangle at North Carolina was established after the collapse of traditional industries led to rising unemployment and a growing underclass. The area did boast, however, some of the best universities in the US.

The parallels with the North-East, which was reeling from the loss of its heavy engineering and manufacturing base, were seized upon by the likes of Stewart Watkins, managing director of the County Durham Development Company, who became a passionate advocate of the scheme. Along with his successor Dr Simon Goon at Business Durham, Mr Watkins went on to use NETPark as a vehicle for promoting the region as worldwide.

Research Triangle tapped into the business opportunities from its local universities to such an extent that North Carolina shot up the gross domestic product league table in the US, and unemployment in the state plummeted from 18 per cent to 3 per cent.

By the time NETPark’s Research Institute was being opened by then Prime Minister Tony Blair in the summer of 2004, its US counterpart was thrumming with activity and supporting more than 40,000 jobs in hi-tech businesses.

This was the blueprint.

NETPark was launched as a joint venture between Durham County Council, Sedgefield Borough Council, One NorthEast, and the University of Durham, as part of a 20-year vision to create a `Dynamic Durham'.

When Mr Blair revisited the site in 2005 to open its first suite of incubator units for start-up businesses he was taken aback by the progress made, which included building work on the Centre for Process Innovation's (CPI’s) Printable Electronics Technology Centre.

“It is quite extraordinary what has been done in such a short space of time,'' Mr Blair told The Northern Echo.

''NETPark is about the future of the economy. I know this region's economy has gone through a lot of difficulties in the last few decades, but with the development of NETPark, the possibilities for future growth are endless," added Mr Blair.

In the early days, critics sniped that the investment in the site wasn’t being matched by huge numbers of new jobs.

But the incubator units began to fill up with companies, such as Durham Scientific Crystals, which later became scanner manufacturers Kromek, and medical laser company Farfield Photonics – both Durham University spin-outs.

Some fell by the wayside, but Kromek’s success as a world-leader in the medical, security and nuclear sectors would see it move into a much bigger site on the park. It is now listed on the AIM stock exchange and provides about 60 high quality North-East jobs. Kromek is often used as a riposte to those who claim NETPark struggled to deliver on its grand ambition.

Among the ongoing success stories has been the park's first tenant, Durham University’s Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, which continues to supply state-of-the-art equipment to major telescopes all over the world, and to some floating in space.

The Printable Electronics Centre, formally opened by Lord Mandelson, then Secretary of State for Business and Enterprise in 2009, was followed by CPI making multi-million pounds investments to almost double the premises. The centre’s importance was underlined when it became a cornerstone of the Government's manufacturing strategy, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, that aims to stimulate growth, and support the commercialisation of breakthrough technologies.

CPI’s Dr Jon Helliwell believes NetPark has played a crucial role in the success of his organisation; giving it the infrastructure to help nurture scores of firms both big and small to take their ideas from concept to commercialisation. He adds: "NetPark has also given us the flexibility to underpin our own growth. It's so important that our region creates more high quality jobs in growing industries. NetPark is playing a big part in achieving that and its growth plans mean it will become even more important in the future.”

CPI’s investment in the park provided the inspiration for Richard Kirk to launch his business PolyPhotonix in 2009. It now employs 22 people at NetPark, 70 per cent of them holding doctorates, and 10 more are set to join this year.

Among the life-changing innovations developed by the company is a device with the potential to revolutionise the treatment of sight loss due to diabetes and save the NHS £1bn. The Noctura 400 sleep mask could save the sight of hundreds of millions of people with diabetes-related eyesight problems, without the need for surgery. Trials of the product are set to start in the region in the coming weeks.

Other notable coups for NetPark include the arrival earlier this year of broadband technology company Filtronic, which relocated its 85 staff from Newton Aycliffe.

Asked if NETPark had been a success, North-East innovation expert Professor Roy Sandbach, replies: "I always say that new innovation hubs look nice and shiny but they should come with the warning - does not include batteries.

"They take time to get established. You have to create an eco system of innovators, links to universities, businesses big and small, and technology transfer partners like CPI. That doesn't happen overnight.

"If you look at NETPark now it has its batteries and they are fully charged.

"If you are asking has it been a success, well, it has created some great business and new jobs.

“To support our attempts at securing inward investment we badly need to be able to point at success stories in the knowledge-based economy. When I travel the world promoting our region I can talk about NetPark as an innovation centre that give us a competitive edge globally. In that respect it continues to deliver significant value to the region,” Prof Sandbach added.

In addition to its day-to-day operations, the park regularly plays host to events, such as visits from NASA astronauts, aimed at attraxting young people into the sector.

"That for me is one of its key roles," says Councillor Neil Foster, cabinet member for economic regeneration at Durham County Council. "Young people can see that there is something happening, close to them in cutting edge science and technology industries that they can aspire to join. Engaging with children and getting them excited about a job in these sectors, and staying in Durham to do it, is what NetPark is all about."

The buildings at NETPark are almost full with 23 businesses, including two PLCs, and there are plans to build much more space over the coming years. Business Durham estimate the site contributes £70m a year to the economy.

Coun Foster adds: "We did what we promised. The park now employs 400 people and supports 1000 indirect jobs. It has been crucial to supporting and helping keep major employers in the county, such as Thorn Lighting.

“We shouldn't be afraid to be hard-nosed about it. This area has some excellent industrial estates, but NETPark was all about science and technology. It was set up for a specific purpose. It wasn't about being all things to all people. We should be proud of what has been achieved, but there is still more to do.”