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This is how Leicester’s new £75 million space park will look when it is complete.

New images have been produced by the University of Leicester of the development that is now underway on the former John Ellis School campus in Belgrave.

The university is collaborating with the city council and the Leicester and Leicestershire Economic Partnership on the scheme which intends to make the city a major player in space-related research and industry.

Council workmen have been preparing the 15 acres site for the redevelopment as part of a £5 million package.

That includes anti-flood works and the creation of pedestrians and cyclists access between the site and the nearby the National Space Centre and the Abbey Pumping Station.

Some two miles of footpaths and cycleways in the area are being upgraded.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he was excited about the prospect of the scheme emerging.

He said: “We have been getting things underway but it is the university which is driving this forward and transforming what has been a sorry site since the school was demolished a couple of decades ago.

“Its location near the space centre and the Abbey Pumping Station and the city centre is a wonderful site.

“The university already has an international reputation in this field and the space park will be a major part of it expanding its research.”

Earlier this month a consortium of UK universities were nearly £5M from the Research England to fund major national initiatives to enhance research and innovation in the UK space industry.

Government ambitions for the UK space sector target 10 per cent of a global space market of £400 billion by 2030 – a challenging goal requiring a coordinated approach from industry and academia.

The Universities of Leicester, Southampton, Surrey, Edinburgh and the Open University, which together form part of the Space Research and Innovation Network for Technology (SPRINT), have received the £4.8M Connecting Capability Fund (CCF) grant in order to support small and medium-sized businesses working with Higher Education institutions, providing them with unprecedented access to university expertise and facilities.

(Image: Google)

Much of the pioneering work which will take place at Space Park Leicester.

University pro-vice chancellor for strategic science projects Professor Martin Barstow, said: “I am pleased to be working with all our partners in this exciting national project, which will transform the engagement of universities with space and space-related industry.

“The project will provide small and medium-sized companies with direct access to our expertise and facilities, helping them to grow in an increasingly competitive and challenging environment.”