The Daphne Steele building, left, and the soon to be complete Emily Siddon building. Credit: University of Huddersfield

£2m funding boost for Kirklees

8 December 2025 16:20 Sally Gibson Comments (0)

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority will provide the council with the grant to drive innovation and support businesses in the health, wellbeing, and digital sectors.

The funding will total £2,023,576.25 and come from the Government’s Investment Zone initiative to help deliver the Huddersfield Health Innovation Incubator programme.

The programme will be delivered in partnership with the University of Huddersfield and the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre.

Funding has been secured for a four-year period, ending on 31 March 2029.

Businesses in the health, wellbeing, and digital sectors that are seeking to start-up or expand will have access to office and co-working spaces at the Glass Box business centre and in the Health Business Innovation Centre in the Emily Siddon Building at the health campus when this opens in 2026.

The HBIC will feature state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and a dedicated health innovation makerspace, one of the few specialist spaces in the UK, providing entrepreneurs with access to professional equipment and expert guidance to design, test, and validate new products.

Businesses will also be able to access space at the existing 3M Buckley Innovation Centre.

Now the external funding from the WYCA has been approved, the council and its partners will move into the implementation phase of the programme.

Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, said: “The programme will give businesses in health, wellbeing, and digital the support they need to start up or grow.

“Along with our partners, we are looking forward to providing tailored advice, workspaces, events, and networking opportunities to build a vibrant community of innovators.

“From businesses and academics to clinicians and professionals, we will all be working together to improve health and care outcomes and drive business growth.

“Building on successful projects like the Thrive initiative, the programme will complement the University’s pioneering National Health Innovation Campus and contribute to the wider regeneration of the Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor.”