The 4,000sqm building will be an Enterprise Centre linked to UEA and the Norwich Research Park, and will be used by new businesses and the university. It will sit on land that was formerly a council depot off University Drive at the edge of Earlham Park, Norwich.

A public display of the plans will take place at the UEA Sportpark, where anyone will be able to attend and speak to members of the team behind the project, including representatives of UEA, developers Morgan Sindall, designers Architype, and the agents for the planning application, Bidwells. The display will also include proposals for the former nursery garden area adjacent to Earlham Hall. The exhibition marks the start of a consultation period which runs until August 31.

UEA and the City Council has identified the Earlham Hall area as the preferred location to accommodate the building.

Dr Jon Carter, assistant director of UEA’s Research and Enterprise Services, said: “This is a great opportunity for much needed expansion of the University to ensure we offer facilities which are in line with those of a world leading institution and allow the University to enhance its support for the local economy while maintaining the value of the campus and its surrounding area to the local community.”

Glyn Davies, partner at Bidwells, said: “This is a highly innovative and important project for UEA, the NRP and Norwich generally. We hope that as many people as possible will attend the exhibition to participate in the consultation, and give us their views on what is being proposed.”

The public exhibition is on Tuesday, August 7, from 3 – 8pm at the Town Close Room, UEA Sportspark.

This landmark project is part-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, (the largest single ERDF project in the region in the 2007-2015 funding round) in addition to funding from UEA, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and BRE.

The consultation period runs until August 31. Additional information can be found at www.adaptcbe.co.uk/CBE/exemplar-building. Comments can be submitted by post to Bidwells (UEA Consultation), 16 Upper King Street, Norwich, NR3 1HA, or by email to ueaconsultation@bidwells.co.uk.