Planners have rubber-stamped the master plan for a new £107m bioscience hub at AstraZeneca’s former Alderley Park site in Cheshire. It’s claimed the scheme could create as many as 7,000 jobs.
Last year the pharmaceutical giant confirmed it was transferring its research and development facilities to Cambridge. The site, between Macclesfield and Knutsford, was sold to Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) which immediately unveiled a 10-year rolling development plan to transform Alderley Park into a world class medical research centre.
The 400-acre site has played a key role in the development of many new drugs, including cancer treatments, and many of its facilities and assets are unique to Europe. Now that AstraZeneca has announced its planned move is six months ahead of schedule MSP wants to ramp-up its initial development.
MSP, majority owned by Manchester property company Bruntwood, wants to bring forward the first phase of its investment strategy and make a major capital investment to maintain and upgrade existing assets by the end of 2015. A move now supported by Cheshire East Council.
Michael Jones is leader of the Cheshire authority which has signed off the draft proposals to allow the scheme to go to public consultation. “Our aim is to create an independent, self-sustaining, world-class hub for life sciences, while also protecting the heritage of this unique site,” he said.
“The early signs are very promising and we hope that a redeveloped Alderley Park could support as many as 7,000 jobs, which is more than were employed at the peak of AstraZeneca’s activity.”
MSP wants to pump at least £107m into Alderley Park by 2025 to “improve the site, re-purpose buildings to make them suitable for multi-occupancy, decommission redundant facilities and invest in both maintenance and improvement of key assets to retain the site’s world class research and development capabilities”.
It claims the pioneering hub is vital to the local economy and the life science sector in the region and wants to develop a “campus environment” with a “vibrant community” of businesses specialising in different stages of the drug discovery process.
The proposal already has Government backing. During a visit to Cheshire soon after its sale, George Osborne said he was “delighted” that the future of the site has been secured. “Life Sciences are one of the UK’s leading sectors and by backing places like Alderley Park, we are backing the industries of the future,” said the Chancellor.
