MINISTER FOR SCIENCE & INNOVATION OFFICIALLY
OPENS THE NEWLY-COMPLETED CHESTERFORD LABORATORY

Chesterford Research Park announced on Thursday 14th June the opening of their newly-completed building– The Emmanuel Laboratory – A landmark development within the park which is now ready for fitting out with over 41,000 sq ft of shell and core laboratory space over two floors. Chesterford’s home team was delighted to welcome Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister for Science & Innovation, to the park for the official opening ceremony of the building.

The Minister gave a short address to the guests and media and marked the occasion by planting a tree outside the building. He then rounded off his visit with an informal luncheon back at the Nucleus (the park’s central facilities building) where over forty high profile members of the Cambridge academic and science and technology community attended.

Minister for Science & Innovation, Malcolm Wicks, commented on the event: “Cambridge has long been a centre for developing excellent medical research. It also has a strong track record for attracting investment from bioscience companies. This new lab will help continue that tradition and reinforce the UK's position as Europe's most competitive location for bioscience R&D."

The Emmanuel building has been designed to allow a range of wet lab users for single or combination occupancy. The building incorporates all the latest design requirements for R&D occupiers including 29 metre depth, dedicated separate loading access, autonomous extensive plant room and separate loading access, and separate external chemical stores. What makes the Emmanuel Laboratory unique is the detailed design process, which has resulted in a highly flexible building which at the same time is able to meet the demands of research companies for purpose-built facilities. The building offers parking for 120 cars, and 28 cycle space, all in beautifully landscaped grounds.

Martin Sylvester, Director of The Churchmanor Estates Company Plc, adds, “The opening of the Emmanuel Laboratory marks a major stepping stone in the park’s development. Providing unrivalled laboratory and workspace, the Emmanuel Laboratory brings the total “built-out” space at the Park to 215,000 sq ft – a major feat in itself, given that seven years ago, we were dealing with an empty, brownfield site. With a further 80,000 sq ft in the pipeline, and our ultimate goal of providing more than 600,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art R&D accommodation, the contribution of the Emmanuel Laboratory is clear.

Following on to the memorable Minister’s visit, Chesterford carried on the celebration for the Emmanuel Laboratory and invited over thirty letting agents to the Nucleus for a cocktail party. Upon their arrival, guests were given a guided tour of the newly-completed building, and then gathered back at the Nucleus for an evening of interactive cocktail demonstration with the CocktailStars (the celebrity bartenders made famous by making it to the semi-finals of Simon Cowell’s ITV programme “Britain’s got talent”).

Speaking about the event, Fergus Trim of AtisReal said: “Everyone loved the cocktails as well as the entertainment provided. The CocktailStars’ team offered a first class entertainment here at the Nucleus to celebrate in style the opening of the Emmanuel building.”

Chesterford Research Park has seen a huge increase in activity over the past year, establishing itself as a new hub for the bioscience industry in the South Cambridge bioscience cluster, as more research and bioscience companies are attracted to the park. This is illustrated by the calibre of companies now in occupation there, including Sosei, Biofocus, Biolauncher, Biotica, Cellzome, Medivir, UKSPA, Illumina, Cellcentric and Cambridge Healthcare & Biotech, with just under 400 people working at the Park.

On the park tenant’s news front, Cellcentric Limited, has announced that Professor Azim Surani, the company’s scientific founder, has been awarded the 36th Annual Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for 2007 for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Science. The Award recognises his “pioneering work on epigenetic gene regulation in mammalian embryos”.

Looking ahead, Chesterford has planning consent for the proposed 41,500 q ft Gonville Laboratory, which will offer a mixture of office, R&D and wet laboratory space. It also has plans for a 36,000 sq ft Science Village building and further bespoke buildings from 15,000 sq ft.

The range and flexibility of space on offer makes the Park an ideal environment for both start-up and established businesses, with a total “built-out” space of 215,000 sq ft and planning permission for a further 80,000 sq ft in the pipeline. On completion, the park will comprise 600,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art R&D facilities within a low-density, landscaped environment.