Aston Science Park is a science park located in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom. It is located alongside the A4540 road, on a site adjacent to Aston University and the Eastside area. The Digbeth Branch Canal runs through it.

The 22-acre (89,000 m²) site, which is part of a 65-acre (260,000 m²) campus, is owned by Birmingham Technology Ltd., which is jointly owned by Lloyds TSB, Birmingham City Council and Aston University, who provide management support and equity capital to firms at the science park.^[1] The science park was opened in 1983 and was designed to overcome the reluctance of London-based firms to invest outside of South East England.^[1]

The first building to be opened was the Business and Innovation Centre, in 1983 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The building was refurbished in 1994. Within one year, there were fifteen companies on site and ten years later, there were 80 companies on site. By 2001, there were 1,400 employees and 110 companies on site. Famous visitors to the site included then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1985, the Duke of Kent in the same year, Sir Albert Bore in 1987 and 2000, Charles, Prince of Wales in 1988, European Commissioner Bruce Milan in 1989, Sir Jeremy Morse in 1990, Chairman of the TSB Group Plc. Sir Nicholas Goodison in 1992, Patricia Hewitt in 2001, Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham, Sir Frederick Crawford^[2] and former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek.^[3]

[edit] See also

• List of science parks in the United Kingdom

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Aston Science Park

Coordinates: 52°29′17″N 1°53′10″W / 52.488°N 1.886°W / 52.488; -1.886