The work follows on from the Balfour Beatty company’s completion of the original Hethel Engineering Centre for Norfolk County Council in 2006.
The 3,716m2 extension will house 32 business incubator units as well as internal stores, toilets and a plant room.
The Hethel Innovation project is part financed by the East of England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness Programme 2007 to 2013. Completion is scheduled for early 2014.
Sustainability was a key aspect in the design of the new facility. The extension will be heated by a biomass heating system housed in a purpose built building at the rear, together with the use of photovoltaic cells and air source pumps. The foul water system has been designed to connect to the centre’s existing drainage system, which ultimately discharges into the Engineering Centre’s own sewerage treatment plant. Soft landscaping will include as much excess soil from the construction of the building as possible, minimising waste to landfill.
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