A GOVERNMENT Minister has suggested that a new £3 million scheme creating offices and laboratories at the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) in Sand Hutton could be repeated elsewhere in the country.

After a tape-cutting opening of the 18,000 sq ft complex, which could generate as many as 100 high-tech jobs, Lord Henley, the Defra Minister for Plant, Health & Science, suggested bringing high-tech firms to under-used Defra sites could prevent disruption.

Called the York Science & Enterprise Centre, the huge two-storey space into which equipment, utilities and walls could be dropped to create modular offices and laboratories was created from empty buildings at Sand Hutton. It will be used by growing small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) across the life sciences, biotechnology and environmental sectors.

He said: “When we have a site like this there is an awful lot to be said about bringing in other people who are doing similar research.”

A number of disused buildings up and down the country would also benefit from similar projects. “The alternative is to move site A to site B which is very disruptive,” he said.

Earlier, Lord Henley addressed the gathering which included Kersten England, the chief executive of City of York Council, Professor Nicola Spence, chief executive of Science City York, as well as SMEs interested in taking out a lease to ensure research co-operation with Fera.

He said that while the European Regional Development Fund had contributed £2 million, Defra had stumped up £1 million because he recognised the value to the wider region.

The project is part of a £19.7 million investment by the European Commission for a major project led by Science City York in partnership with the University of York and Fera, which will boost the region’s high-tech industries by £37 million while generating 90 new businesses and creating 685 new jobs.