Dr Derek Harris, chief executive of Aston Science Park, said:  “Dozens of people working at companies located on the Science Park campus will be amongst those who remember The Old Union Mill with a great deal of affection. But I am afraid its days are numbered now that another stage of our redevelopment programme nears reality.”

Dr Harris said that the site of The Old Union Mill is to be amalgamated with an adjacent site and developed into 130,000 sq ft of office accommodation, with negotiations currently being held with potential tenants. Funding for the pub’s demolition and acquisition of the site had been made possible with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund and regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

With the help of Dr Harris’s drive and determination, Aston has grown into one of Europe’s leading science parks, consistently playing a major part in the Renaissance of Birmingham – stimulating job-creation by attracting and nurturing new companies and encouraging economic regeneration – as well as helping to establish “satellite” joint ventures in other parts of the UK. When it originally opened in 1983, Aston was the first of a new generation of UK science parks, created by a unique public-private sector partnership involving Aston University, Birmingham City Council and Lloyds TSB.

PICTURE CAPTION: Dr Derek Harris, chief executive of Aston Science Park and Stephen Manners, development manager offer a farewell toast to The Old Union Mill public house, which is being demolished to make way for the next phase of the science park’s redevelopment programme.

For further information contact:
Charlotte Kerr, PR Executive, Aston Science Park, 0121 260 6182 This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it