The Hub, which already has planning permission in principle, is a flagship development by Queen Margaret University and East Lothian Council, the ambition of which is to create a nationally significant facility to capture, support and grow innovation-led enterprise in East Lothian and the Edinburgh region.

Focusing on important high growth sectors with specialist needs, including the food and drink sector, the Hub will support innovative start-ups and small to medium-sized businesses, delivering a specialist service for research and business development. It will become a vibrant new economic innovation cluster featuring serviced and fitted commercial laboratory, office and events space.

The design, build and operation of the Hub is being managed by a joint venture between QMU and East Lothian Council. It is supported by £28.6 million from the UK Government, £1.4m from the Scottish Government and £10m from East Lothian Council as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

Sir Paul Grice, principal of Queen Margaret University, said: “The Hub will support research, innovation and growth, particularly in the food and drink sector, which is hugely important for East Lothian, building on its title of Scotland’s Food & Drink County.

“It will also have a strong focus on the life science and tech sectors, which will be beneficial to all of our communities. Companies locating to the Hub will benefit from facilitated access to the University, its social and intellectual capital and to its business support services. As we continue to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and deal with a changed economic picture, this development will also be key in bringing quality jobs and investment to the area.”

UK Government minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said: “It’s wonderful to hear the Edinburgh Innovation Hub has reached its planning permission stages, taking the project a step further towards its development. The Hub will be a huge academic and economic asset to East Lothian’s already thriving food and drink sector. The UK Government is investing £28.6 million in the hub and levelling up communities across Scotland with £2.3 billion.”

The Hub is the anchor project of the wider Edinburgh Innovation Park on the land at Craighall, adjacent to the QMU campus. The development was granted planning permission in principle in March 2019, as part of a mixed use development, including new homes and a new primary school, business & industry use and community facilities.

Local people can view the plans, along with information on the wider Edinburgh Innovation Park project as a whole, at an exhibition in the atrium of Queen Margaret University from Monday 27 March for two weeks. The application will be available to view on the council website in due course.

A design team led by Oberlanders Architects was appointed to take forward the delivery of an innovation hub last year. WSP has been appointed as mechanical and electrical services engineers, while Civic Engineers has been appointed as structural, civil and transport engineers. The project and cost manager is Currie & Brown.

It is hoped that if the detailed design of the Hub is approved, construction will begin in 2023 with completion estimated in 2025.