THE Hampshire Economic Partnership is giving its backing to a new enterprise hub to be set up in Southampton.

The Southampton Innovation Hub is set to become a major force in the growth of knowledge-based companies in the region. Its headquarters will be at Chilworth Science Park, and it will be charged to serve business in Southampton, Test Valley, Win-chester, Eastleigh and the New Forest.

The hub will form part of a network devised by the South East England Development Agency as a means of helping knowledge-based businesses to fulfil their potential.

Bryan Davies, chairman of the economic partnership, said: "The principal aim of this hub will be to generate a culture of entrepreneurship, which will have a major impact on the growth of knowledge-based companies across our area.

"It will generate a measurable impact upon our economy."

Dr Don Fox, managing director of Chilworth Science Park, who is the project co-ordinator, said that the hub will put a significant emphasis on business incubation and cluster generation.

"Initially it will be focused on the Chilworth business incubator unit which will come on stream later this year and will concentrate on applied physics, computing and e-commerce."

"Similar units will be developed for creative media at Drivers Wharf and for marine sciences and technology at Ocean Village, followed shortly afterwards by units covering environmental and energy technologies in Andover and fashion design and crafts elsewhere in the region."

There are plans for clusters of related companies to be established around the incubator site.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.