New Cambridge life sciences hub plans approved

Alchemy is due to be completed in 2025

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South Cambridgeshire District Council has unanimously approved a proposal for a new 125,000 sq. ft. next generation life sciences hub in Cambridge.

Family-run life sciences developer and investor, Gen Two, is planning to start building at ‘Alchemy’ – a 5.2 acre former brownfield site in Fowlmere – in the first half of 2024. The first specialist life sciences R&D facilities will be available sometime in 2025.

Gen Two will retain and reuse two of the five existing two-storey structures to minimise the embodied carbon impact of the project. The resulting laboratories and offices will be ‘BREEAM Excellent’ and will support the increasing demand for world-class R&D space from the Cambridge southern science cluster.

The hub will consist of self-contained laboratory suites, ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 sq. ft., which can be merged to form larger facilities. The hub will target biotech occupiers and scale-ups involved in various R&D aspects, from biology to chemistry and Good Manufacturing Practices.

According to Gen Two, the scheme will provide direct access to local transport hubs such as Foxton and Whittlesford Station via a shuttle bus service.

Ariel Levy, co-founder of Gen Two, said: “In the Cambridge life sciences ecosystem there is unquestionably a need for additional fit for purpose and adaptable R & D scale-up space, which we are proud to have secured planning consent for.

“As a team we’ve seen strong support from the local community for our new science and innovation campus. We’ve been through a detailed planning process, engaging early on with key local stakeholders, who have helped shape the project’s design through parish meetings, public consultation and an interactive youth engagement programme run in partnership with Greater Cambridge Shared Planning.”

Daniel Sterling, co-founder of Gen Two, added: “We’ve spent the past few years assembling an experienced team of experts with a vision to build an institutional grade portfolio of life sciences real estate assets in Cambridge, Oxford and Leeds.

“As we look to grow our portfolio in these places and bring forward our existing pipeline, we are extremely encouraged by the number of meaningful conversations we are having with best-in-class capital partners, who also see the highly supportive long-term fundamentals for high quality and flexible life sciences spaces.

“We’re focused on delivering world-class laboratories and workspace for our country’s brightest biotech businesses, a number of which we are in discussions with.

“Alchemy’s planning approval from South Cambridge District Council is a strong endorsement in our product and development approach, and we’re looking forward to delivering the project in the next two years.”

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