Kier Western has started work on a new £25m centre which is designed to keep Bristol at the vanguard of the aviation industry for generations to come.

The National Composite Centre, at the new Science Park in Emersons Green, will specialise in research and development into lightweight composite materials. Planes of the future will be built from carbon fibre composites, meaning they will be able to fly further on less fuel.

Bristol has been chosen for the centre because of its close links to the aviation industry, with an estimated 20,000 people working in the sector in the city. The new enterprise is being backed by Bristol University, the South West Regional Development agency and a series of big industry players.


Kier Western has begun construction of the building, which will house leading industry experts and researchers and provide manufacturing facilities of an industrial scale. There will be enough space at the centre to build prototype airplanes as part of the design manufacturing process.

The centre is being funded by the South West Regional Development Agency, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the European Regional Development Fund. Bristol University bursar, Patrick Finch, commented: "This marks an important stage in the realisation of the National Composite Centre. A high-quality design has been developed by our project team, led by Bristol architects Stride Treglown, as befits the first building to be completed at S-Park."

The National Composite Centre will include renewable energy technologies, with a roof incorporating photovoltaic cells to generate solar electricity to help power the building. It should be completed in the spring and be formally opened later next year.

(CD/GK)