PLANS for a new £12m office development in Daresbury have been submitted.

Sci-Tech Daresbury has applied for planning permission from Halton Borough Council for the new 42,000sq ft office complex.

Project Violet will see three new three-storey buildings open at the gateway to the science and technology campus on Innovation Way.

If planning permission is granted, work could begin in summer 2018 before the offices open a year later.

The scheme – comprised of two 12,000sq ft buildings and one 18,000sq ft office block – follows the opening of the £20m Techspace One and Two developments at Daresbury Laboratories earlier this year.

Sci-Tech Daresbury board member Neal Biddle said: “The fact we are committed to further speculative development by delivering much needed grade A office space in the region underlines not only our ongoing success but also our commitment to the region and the market demand for what we are proposing.

“The campus is now home to more than 120 businesses and more are relocating every week, so the need for more space is critical.

“Our recent UKSPA accolade, our enterprise zone status and the opening of the high specification Techspace One and Two buildings earlier this year have cemented our reputation as a world class location where business can innovate and flourish.

“There is a critical need to invest in Sci-Tech Daresbury infrastructure for economic development and the help the UK to be able to compete in global markets, an understanding and a vision shared by all our partners.”