Scarborough Group has been selected by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as the preferred developer to transform the historic Old Medical School into a globally recognised health-tech innovation hub.
The proposed agreement to acquire and refurbish the grade II*-listed building represents the first phase in the delivery of the Innovation Village, a world-class cluster for science, innovation and technology surrounding the new hospital development at Leeds General Infirmary.
Dame Linda Pollard, chair of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are delighted to announce Scarborough Group International as preferred developer and partner for the Old Medical School.
“Together we will create a health tech innovation hub that helps clinicians, researchers and entrepreneurs turn the latest scientific advances into successful new products and services that can improve health outcomes and drive economic growth.”
The Innovation Village is a transformational project encompassing more than 2.2m sq ft of development which will create up to 4,000 new jobs, more than 500 new homes and an economic boost of £13bn for West Yorkshire.
SGI’s vision includes preserving the Old Medical School’s historic Tudor Gothic style while implementing contemporary enhancements to offer a dynamic and functional workspace. These includes laboratories, co-working spaces, offices and communal areas, along with a new atrium over the inner courtyard.
Completed in 1894, the original red-brick building was designed by Leeds architect WH Thorp as the home to one of the first provincial medical schools in England. The building currently houses the trust’s pathology department, which is relocating to the state-of-the-art Centre for Laboratory Medicine at St James’s University Hospital.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority has provisionally identified the Old Medical School as a major project set to benefit from the £160m West Yorkshire Investment Zone. The project is expected to create 237 jobs.
Leeds has one of the highest concentrations of health-tech employees in the UK and has the most high-growth health tech firms securing investment; the most health and care patents, strong demand for research and innovation skills and the highest proportion of bioscience undergraduates.
