Town's important future role in space tech - firm

The opening of a multimillion-pound space test centre in Keighley will help the town "flourish", the boss of the American tech company behind the plan has said.

Bradford Council recently announced the Space Test North facility would open in Providence Park, supported by a £4.5m grant from the Local Regeneration Fund.

Ron Ruppersburg, president of US-based MPG, told a meeting that the test centre, which is expected to provide cutting-edge specialist radio frequency and environmental testing for space and satellite hardware, would be operated by MPG Europe.

It would establish Keighley as an "important centre for space and advanced technology development", Ruppersburg said.

Speaking at the council's Scale Up Bradford event on Tuesday, Ruppersburg said: "MPG Europe was delighted to visit Providence Park and see the significant opportunities the delivery of Space Test North could bring.

"The visit reinforced our confidence in the project's potential to become a significant asset for the UK space sector, providing critical testing, manufacturing, research and skills development capabilities currently unavailable elsewhere in the region," he said.

The business, which is under Dover Corporation's MPG operating company, has said the centre would bring 50 "high value jobs" to Keighley, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Seeing the site in person has further strengthened our belief that this initiative will become a catalyst for growth, collaboration and high-value job creation," Ruppersburg told the meeting.

During a panel discussion, Ruppersburg explained that the company chose Keighley because the Aire Valley had a "technology heritage we wanted to expand into".

"One thing that led us into this area and Keighley was the collaboration between the University of Bradford and Keighley College," he said.

"As we explored the locations available, we saw Keighley was in a very strong position, and we ended up in Providence Park – which is literally across the street from Keighley College."

Andrew Judson, Bradford Council's executive member for economy, regeneration and planning, said the project was "about more than technology".

"We already have a strong and growing cluster of space, radio frequency and advanced engineering businesses across the Aire Valley," he said.

"It will create high-skilled jobs, open up new training opportunities and career pathways, and help position Keighley as a leading centre for innovation and advanced manufacturing."

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