Creating a design centre; A new pounds 13m design centre scheduled to open in 2011 in the heart of Gateshead's Baltic Business Quarter promises to be a hub for creative companies. Christopher Knox takes a closer look.

THE Northern Design Centre has been in the planning since the Government commissioned Cox Review of Creativity in Business in 2005, which stressed the need to place more focus on product design as a way of countering the pressures of increased competition and price cutting abroad.

The review suggested there was evidence that UK business was not fully realising the potential of applying creativity more widely, with the North East singled out as a region which was failing to effectively apply the knowledge it has built up within its creative sector to help its traditional industries compete on a global scale.

Although companies such as Proctor and Gamble and Berghaus have been cited as torchbearers for their investment in hi-tech design, regional development agency One North East believes more needs to be done if the region is to compete with traditional design hubs such as London.

This was the reason behind the launch of Design Network North earlier this year.

Its aim is to help companies develop innovative solutions to design problems and support opportunities for collaborative working, knowledge exchange, advice and project funding.

The network, which includes renowned designer Wayne Hemingway, currently resides at RTC North in Sunderland until the construction of the Northern Design Centre at the heart of Gateshead's Baltic Business Quarter, which will create a focal point for design in the North East.

The building, which is due to open in 2011, is being backed with pounds 4.5m worth of funding from One North East and pounds 4m from the European Regional Development Fund, and is being backed by a long list of experts in the field of design and engineering, including Dr Terry Sheldrake, senior manager technology at Newcastle pipeline maker Wellstream and Chris Thompson, managing director of Express Group, Gateshead.

Ben Strutt, design senior specialist at One North East, said: "The centre will create huge potential for both the creative and heavy industry sector when it opens in 2011.

"We need to ensure that firms in the North East regard investment into product design as an essential part of their day to day operations and not a remote industry of use only to the creative sector.

"Times are hard for a large number of businesses in the North East at the moment, but I would suggest that it will be those that invest in product design as part of their processes that come out as industry leaders once the recession comes to an end."

Mr Strutt also points out that the design industry is part of the wider commercial creative sector, which is said to be worth about pounds 800m to the North East economy, and that the new building could help to create about 9,000 jobs over the next four years.

The project, which is also receiving private investment from its developer Terrace Hill, will see Design Network North take up the first two floors of the building, with the remaining two floors allocated for design companies.

The centre will also work with the region's major universities to support graduates looking to branch out into the design sector, and will also host a number of exhibitions to display design talent in the North East.

Although the building work is still being tendered out, plans for the centre have already received praise from the region's private sector, with firms believing that the presence of a hub in such an iconic location will put North East design on the map.

Dianne Sharp, managing director of Bishop Auckland-based solenoid manufacturer Mechetronics, said: "To have an iconic, high profile design hub will aid the development of innovation capability within SMEs as, for the first time, they will know where to go for help.

"Until now, general design and engineering support has been fragmented, but this significant investment will go a long way to bringing together that network, attracting the right people to the region and showcasing North East innovation."

Mike Addison, senior scientist at Procter and Gamble, said: "We firmly believe world class innovation supported by world class design is key to consistent and sustainable growth.

"Given our commitment to, and extensive operations in, the North East, the planned design network fits very well with these aspirations."

The plans have also been welcomed by industry associations including EEF. Regional manager Tony Sarginson said: "Our members recognise the importance of design and innovation to keep them ahead of their competitors.

"Facilities such as those being provided by the Northern Design Centre are going to prove so important to our manufacturers in the future.

"We applaud the efforts and foresight shown by One North East in trying to bring this much-needed facility to the North East."

CAPTION(S):

AMBITIOUS Ben Strutt, design senior specialist at One North East IMPRESSIVE An artist's impression of the planned Northern Design Centre, which is to be built at Baltic Business Quarter.