Fifteen-building campus will create up to 5,000 new jobs in Hertfordshire
Hawkins Brown has secured local authority backing for proposals to create a new 15-building life-sciences campus at Stevenage in a project valued at £900m.
The scheme, named “Elevate Quarter”, has been created for UBS Asset Management and Reef Group. It will deliver more than 148,000sq m of space for lab, office, and manufacturing facilities on a site next to pharmaceuticals giant GSK’s existing global R&D facility and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. GSK is also a partner for the project.
UBS and Reef said the campus would create up to 5,000 jobs and deliver a world-class, sustainable, and connected life-science campus bringing together companies from early-stage through to commercialisation and helping to meet growing demand for “good manufacturing practices” space.
Described as one of Europe’s largest life-sciences campuses, Elevate Quarter will also incorporate the UK’s Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult.
Set around a central green with an interconnecting network of paths and open spaces, the campus will include restaurants, cafés, and leisure facilities. There will be three green transport hubs which will provide multi-storey car parking, bike parking and potential scooter/e-bike hire spaces.
The proposals received a resolution to grant permission, subject to conditions, from members of Stevenage Borough Council’s Planning and Development Committee on Tuesday.
Hawkins Brown partner and healthcare sector lead Ewan Graham said the practice’s proposals would provide flexible and adaptable buildings that promote active lifestyles, aid collaborative working and allow firms to grow without having to relocate.
“Designing buildings for science and research takes skill and care – it’s not just about technical compliance and performance – it’s about designing for people,” he said.
“To create a truly world-leading environment and one of Europe’s largest life sciences clusters it is essential to provide an ecology for success: occupiers need their teams to be able to come together with like-minded innovators, engineers and collaborators.
“This is a seriously compelling offer when spaces for bio-tech companies are in short supply. The new cluster will attract best-in-class occupiers given its location, connectivity and access to affordable housing.”
Graham said the project would “truly elevate Stevenage as a world-leading cell and gene therapy cluster”.
Construction is expected to start later this year with completion of the scheme’s first phase targeted for the end of 2025.
The project team includes cost consultant Gardiner & Theobald; Curtins as structural and civil engineer; Hore Lea as acoustics, vertical transportation and utilities consultant; KJ Tait as building services and sustainability consultant; and Exterior Architecture as landscape architect.
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