3 min read - 27 Jul, 2026
Planning approval secured for £13.2m Samlesbury Innovation Hub
Planning approval has been secured for the £13.2m Samlesbury Innovation Hub, providing Lancashire with a new development opportunity to present to international investors and businesses at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow. The latest CGI images of the Innovation Hub were also unveiled during the event.
Located at the Samlesbury Enterprise Zone, the Hub will provide up to 30,000 sq ft of flexible workspace, meeting facilities and collaboration space for businesses working across aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing, engineering, cyber and technology.
The approval comes at an important point in the project’s development. It means the Innovation Hub can now be presented as part of Lancashire’s wider offer to businesses that are considering investment, expansion or collaboration in the UK and looking for high-quality commercial space, access to research and innovation, and connections into an established industrial base.
Planning approval has been secured for the £13.2m Samlesbury Innovation Hub / Picture: Lancashire County Council
Prof Andrew Schofield, chair of the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster, said: “The North West has built one of the UK’s most significant defence and security ecosystems through long-term collaboration between industry, government, universities and innovative SMEs.
“Businesses choose locations where they can access customers, suppliers, skills, research expertise and opportunities to collaborate. That’s what makes strong regional clusters so important.
“Farnborough provides an opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of capability that exists across Lancashire and the wider North West, while building relationships that support future investment, innovation and growth across the defence and security sector.”
CGI images of the Hub were unveiled to international investors and businesses at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow / Picture: Lancashire County Council
The building is intended to become a focal point for collaboration between businesses, universities and research organisations, helping companies develop new products and services, strengthen supply chains, innovate and bring new ideas to market.
It also reflects Lancashire’s wider ambitions for economic growth. The Lancashire Growth Plan identifies national security and resilience as a strategic growth priority and sets out the county’s long-term ambition to strengthen nationally important sectors by attracting investment, supporting innovation and creating high-value employment. The Innovation Hub is one of a number of projects helping to deliver that ambition.
The Innovation Hub will provide up to 30,000 sq ft of flexible workspace, meeting facilities and collaboration space / Picture: Lancashire County Council
Ian Barton, head of enterprise and entrepreneurship, BAE Systems, added: “The Samlesbury Enterprise Zone is a natural extension of our Samlesbury site, which has delivered high-value manufacturing in aerospace and defence for decades. The Innovation Hub builds on that heritage, bringing new companies and organisations together to collaborate alongside established industry.
“This is a really positive development, expanding the value of the site and the skills we rely on to maintain our world class reputation in manufacturing, here in Lancashire.”
