Plans to build a £900m Life Science campus in Stevenage, which will be one of Europe’s largest, have been approved.
UBS Asset Management and the Reef Group's plans for the 15-building Elevate Quarter were pushed through by Stevenage Borough Council’s planning committee, with construction beginning in 2023.
The campus will provide 1.6 million sq ft of lab and office space, as well as creating 5,000 new jobs.
It will sit alongside GSK’s existing Global R&D facility and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, and incorporate the UK’s Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.
Following the approval, council leader Richard Henry said: “We welcome this new development for the town, which has secured a resolution to grant consent.
"This will expand and build upon the existing campus, with cutting edge science opening up jobs and delivering economic benefits to the town.
"We will work closely with our partners and life science companies to unlock these job opportunities for our communities and local people, as we continue to make Stevenage Even Better.
“Stevenage is a hugely important location for this sector. Through partnership working we are transforming our town and we are committed to securing the best for our residents, communities, and businesses”.
The buildings for the new campus will comprise of a variety of different uses, including R&D labs and offices, GMP manufacturing facilities and flexible lab buildings, as well as training, innovation and collaboration spaces.
Employee and visitor amenity spaces will include restaurants, cafés, and leisure facilities, in addition to three Green Transport Hubs, which will provide multi-storey car parking, bike parking and potential scooter/e-bike hire spaces.
"The approval of our new life science campus in Stevenage further cements its position as Europe’s leading cluster for advanced therapies," said Piers Slater, joint chief executive for the Reef Group.
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"Stevenage is ideally positioned to attract world-class talent and the campus will facilitate further collaboration between major multinationals and biotechs.
"The campus has been designed to allow these life science businesses to grow and scale-up over time and to create an open and accessible environment for both employees and the wider public."
Olivia Drew, portfolio manager for real estate and private markets at UBS Asset Management, added: "The delivery of the new life science campus will leverage years of unparalleled experience across both UBS and Reef.
"The buildings have been carefully designed to be at the cutting edge of sustainability and will facilitate world-leading R&D and advanced manufacturing.
"The new campus will support thousands of new jobs and boost the UK’s position as a global life sciences leader."
"New lab space and facilities for the cutting-edge biotech companies of the future are in short supply, so we're delighted to support the creation of a new life sciences campus at the heart of the Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge," continued Dr Tony Wood, chief scientific Officer at GSK.
"Situated alongside one of our global R&D hubs, this is a really positive development for the sector and it's great that we’re one step closer to work starting on the new Stevenage development."
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