Kenneth Clarke becomes latest political big-hitter to visit The Heath

Shadow Business Secretary Kenneth Clarke today joined the long list of high-profile political visitors to The Heath Business and Technical Park in Runcorn, saying that the facility was creating the kinds of jobs needed for Britain’s future.

Mr Clarke, one of the best-known figures in British politics, met residents at the Runcorn business park, chatted to members of the team behind the award-winning venture and attended a round-table discussion with leading business figures from across the region.

He also viewed work being carried out to extend the park’s facilities and discussed plans by SOG Ltd, the owner and manager of the park, to replicate the venture’s successful formula at other locations across the country.

Mr Clarke said he would be delighted to see The Heath’s success story rolled out elsewhere and he warmly praised the achievements at Runcorn. “I am bound to be impressed because it is an amazing transformation from the days when it was ICI’s headquarters,” he said. “The businesses I have seen are the kinds of businesses that I think are going to be the economy of the next few decades.”

Applauding SOG Ltd, he added: “To find this kind of company thriving and some of the businesses raising capital and the new building going on is very good and fills me with enthusiasm.”

Today’s event added to a long list of visits to The Heath by political heavyweights. The highly successful business park – which is home to more than 185 organisations and 2,000 jobs – has already attracted figures including Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Economic and Business Minister Ian Pearson, science and innovation minister Lord Drayson and former ministers Steven Norris and Lord Sainsbury.

Kenneth Clarke, an MP since 1970, has tackled many of the most prominent roles in British politics including those of Chancellor, Health Secretary and Home Secretary. Following a short period on the backbenches, he returned to front-line politics in January 2009 when he was appointed by Tory leader David Cameron as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

“This is the future. You have to look to have new business,” Mr Clarke said of The Heath. “The speed of change that we have got accustomed to in recent years is steadily getting faster.”

He added: “We have got to grow a business-friendly climate in which this kind of business can grow. These are the jobs of the future.”

As part of his visit to The Heath, Mr Clarke was able to join a round-table discussion with representatives of a number of leading businesses present in the North West, including Stobart Group, AstraZeneca and Ineos, together with bodies such as Halton Chamber of Commerce and the Audit Commission, both of which have offices on the business park.

During a tour of the site, Mr Clarke was able to discuss the ‘Fusion’ project, the pioneering blueprint drawn up by SOG Ltd’s managers for the future of science in the UK. Having successfully transformed The Heath, which faced closure when its one-time owner ICI decided to leave the site in the late 1990s, SOG believes it offers the experience and expertise to create similar multi-occupancy science-based ventures across the country.

The concept, which won the public backing of Tony Blair, could potentially create a cluster of research and development facilities, each interacting with one another and providing a huge magnet for inward investment at no expense to the public purse.

SOG Ltd is pushing for the concept to be adopted where national or multinational companies are looking to downsize or leave the UK altogether with the potential loss of an established and valuable skills base.

As well as looking to replicate The Heath’s success elsewhere, managers are also focusing on expanding the business park itself. Mr Clarke was able to view the early stages of an ambitious project to extend the facilities on the 60-acre business park through an additional 180,000 square feet of offices and laboratories. The new development is set to enlarge the workforce on the business park to 3,000 people within the next five years.

SOG Ltd Managing Director Dr Peter Cook said: “With so much happening at The Heath – and SOG’s success story going from strength to strength – this was the perfect time for Kenneth Clarke to visit the business and technical park. We were delighted to welcome him to Runcorn and to offer him the opportunity to witness the exciting developments currently taking place.”

He added: “Through our ‘Fusion’ project and the expansion of The Heath itself, we feel the invaluable experience gathered by the SOG team can be utilised to create a value-for-money business concept that will vastly increase the footprint of science within the UK.”