Dorset Innovation Park set for major transformation under new management company  

A new company will soon take over Dorset’s only Enterprise Zone, with the aim of creating hundreds of new jobs, boosting investment and growing the local economy.  

Dorset Council’s Cabinet has given the green light to attract private sector experience and knowledge into the management of the Dorset Innovation Park, near Wool through the creation of an arm’s length company, owned by the council.  

Creating a new management company will give the council-owned park dedicated resources and extra expertise to bring even more businesses onto the site.   

And with its Enterprise Zone status, the council can still retain 100% of business rate growth to plough back into the economy.  

Cllr Richard Biggs, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Property & Assets and Economic Growth, said:   

“The Dorset Innovation Park is a strategically important site for our economy not least because of its Enterprise Zone status. But its future success is dependent on us doing things differently to attract the investment needed for it to meet its full potential.    

“The creation of this new company is a bold and exciting step which will inspire confidence, and importantly, attract the inward investment which will ultimately benefit Dorset’s economy in a hugely positive way.   

“There is a case for the new company. It has been designed to drive business growth and support economic prosperity through job creation and private sector investment. The new operating model promises a bright future for the park and prosperity for the whole of Dorset.”  

Dorset's Council Plan has a target of achieving 300 new jobs at the Enterprise Zone by 2029 and the company will be tasked with delivering this outcome. 

The council will now finalise governance arrangements before setting up the new company.   

Dorset Council will hold a 100% shareholding in the company and will appoint a board of between 5 and 7 directors, including private sector representatives. An advisory board, including the Ministry of Defence, and a tenants’ board will also be established.  

The new company is expected to be up and running by the end of this summer and a new website designed to attract new businesses to the park, will launch in next month.