Expansion of research campus could provide hundreds more jobs

Hundreds of new jobs could be created in South Cambridgeshire after plans for an expansion of the Babraham Research Campus were given full planning permission.

US life science property business BioMed Realty is making a £35 million investment in the campus, which is one of the UK’s leading hubs of bioscience research and innovation, supporting early stage and growing life science enterprises.

Planning permission has now been confirmed for up to 10,000 square metres of new research and development space, which will see two new buildings constructed.

Babraham Bioscience Technologies (BBT) is responsible for the management and commercial development of the campus, which is already home to around 1,200 workers.

This expansion in facilities, due for completion in 2019, will create scale-up space for companies which started on site and have now grown and require additional space, as well as new companies moving to the campus for the first time.

The new buildings will be accessed via a new spur road that has just been built off the main access road onto the campus.

Babraham Hall, which was built in the 1830s, will remain a dominant part of the expanded campus. The new buildings have been designed to make sure they will be in keeping with other facilities already in place on the campus.

A landscape strategy that was completed as part of the planning process will ensure the retention pf trees that are within and alongside the site. More than 300 additional trees and 2,000 shrubs will also be planted to enhance the campus environment.

Cllr Robert Turner, Cabinet Member for Planning, said: “This is a big economic boost to South Cambridgeshire and further strengthens our reputation as a centre for world class bioscience innovation.

“I’m delighted that this additional space at Babraham will allow firms already at the site to take their work onto the next level, and equally pleased that it will free up space to allow more companies to take advantage of this fantastic facility.

“I’m delighted we could assist in the growth of one of our key areas of employment by reaching this stage of the process within our target timescales.”

The new buildings will support those growing companies who want to remain part of the Babraham Research Campus community, but want larger premises than are currently available.

Doug Cuff, Senior Director of Development for BioMed Realty, said: “We are honored to be part of this important international partnership with BBT and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to begin the ground-up development of two new buildings to grow bioscience-based companies on the Babraham Research Campus.

“We are truly excited that BioMed @ Babraham will provide scale-up companies with an additional 100,000 square feet of state-of-the-art R&D facilities in the heart of the preeminent Cambridge life science community that will support transformational scientific research.

“But, the most important reason for building BioMed @ Babraham is people, and connecting them with the 60+ scale-up companies on the Babraham Research Campus and the world-renowned researchers and resources of the Babraham Institute.”