Carter Jonas has secured planning permission for two large science buildings of national importance totalling over 160,000ft² (14,867m²) at the Harwell Campus in Oxford on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council and MACE.
The first building will provide a new 44,885 sq ft of research and development facility for the newly established Rosalind Franklin Institute, a government-funded initiative to create a national centre for interdisciplinary science – to bring about transformative changes in life science through interdisciplinary research and technology development.
The second is the new National Satellite Test Facility for the UK Space Agency. The 115,141 sq ft building will provide a world-class set of amenities for the assembly, integration and testing of space payloads and satellites. It will enable British companies to develop the next generation of launch technologies and testing capabilities that will enable the UK to build satellites and deliver payloads into orbit.
Nicky Brock, a partner at Carter Jonas said: “It is an honour to have secured two consents on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council at the UK home for innovation Harwell Campus, which is the first step to delivering these two new facilities of national importance.
The Rosalind Franklin Institute will follow in the spirit of its namesake by developing unique new techniques and tools and applying them for the first time to biological problems.
Meanwhile, access to co-located world-class facilities at the National Satellite Test Facility will enable British industry to bid competitively for more national and international satellite contracts, ensuring the UK remains a world-leader in space technologies for decades to come.”
Harwell Campus is well-established as one of the leading science and innovation hubs in Europe. It occupies 710-acres south of Oxford and boasts both Space and HealthTech Clusters.
