Plot sits within Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor
The Crown Estate has purchased a 221-acre site which it intends to use for science space and housing in Oxfordshire.
The Harwell East development could include up to 4.5 million sq ft of office, laboratory and manufacturing facilities and up to 400 homes.
It sits next to the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus within the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and is estimated to have a gross development value of £4.5bn.
The investment forms part of The Crown Estate’s pledge to invest up to £1.5bn in the sector over the next 15 years.
Dan Labbad, chief executive at The Crown Estate, said the UK’s science, innovation and technology sector needs “specialised lab facilities and housing” to expand, which the Harwell East project aims to provide.
The Crown Estate will work with Crucible, a new company focused on supporting the delivery of science infrastructure, to secure planning permission for Harwell East.
The announcement follows May’s news that The Crown Estate had entered into a conditional agreement with Lendlease to create a new joint venture (JV) partnership focused on Lendlease’s undeveloped UK land and management portfolio.
The JV could deliver 11 million sq ft of science, innovation and technology workspace, including 60 acres above and around London’s Euston Station.
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