A £6.5MILLION technology hub for local entrepreneurs and small businesses is to be built in the city centre.
A £6.5MILLION technology hub for local entrepreneurs and small businesses is to be built in the city centre.
Glasgow City Council has given the go-ahead to the proposals for the John Logie Baird Innovation Village - a five-storey office and IT space at the council's old Bell Street cleaning depot.
The development, aimed at young firms and new business, will offer hot-desks for new companies, office space and training facilities.
It is even going to have space and support for people who haven't yet launched their business and need the tools and support to get their business idea off the ground.
The village is a joint venture which will be funded by business support body, the GO Group, the European Regional Development Fund, Glasgow City Council and the Merchant City Heritage Fund.
Isabell Majewsky, chief executive of the GO Group, said: "The Innovation Village will have a great impact not only on Glasgow's economy, but the nation as a whole. It will become an essential calling point for entrepreneurs, inventors and innovators at any stage of business development.
"Historically Scotland has been a very creative environment, but our weakness has been in exploiting ideas and turning them in to profitable businesses.
"Our choice of name for the village reflects that. John Logie Baird created something that now sits in every living room in the world.
"However, he made very little money from his invention. With the support and infrastructure of the Innovation Village, we aim to change that for the benefit of today's entrepreneurs, inventors and innovators."
The City Council's Executive Committee gave the go-ahead for the project yesterday.
This proposal is the latest in a number of projects that has seen £16m invested since 2001 by the Council through its Merchant City Business and Arts Property Strategy.
Councillor George Ryan, executive member for Business and the Economy at Glasgow City Council, said: "The creation of a business innovation centre in this location will provide a supportive base for new and growing firms in Glasgow.
"A purpose-built environment such as this help to maintain and develop the city's small business infrastructure, protecting and creating jobs."
