Release date: 19th June, 2009

Chesterford Research Park showcased as centre of excellence for foreign delegation

Chesterford welcomes delegation of Chinese officials seeking to exchange experiences with successful research parks

The development of Chesterford Research Park to date was given the seal of approval at the end of May, by a delegation of visitors from the Yantai High Tech Zone Science and Information Technology Bureau, and representatives from Luye Pharma Group.

The delegation, visiting from China, were in the UK to exchange experiences with local authorities and established science and R&D parks in a bid to better understand the process of developing and running a successful research park.  Chesterford Research Park was approached by the hosts of the visit, East of England International, to open their doors to the delegation as a shining example of how to develop and manage such a facility.

Martin Sylvester, Director Churchmanor Estates Plc, joint developers of Chesterford with Aviva Investors walked the delegation through the history of the Park to date, from the initial acquisition of the land in July 2000 to a discussion focused on the future development plans for the Park, which include the development of the Robinson Laboratory and The Science Village.  Representing the ultimate in flexible design, The Robinson Laboratory will provide two separate wings of laboratory space, linked by an elegant atrium designed to house an impressive reception area and a versatile range of meeting rooms.  In addition to which, The Science Village, a forward thinking, low energy building will allow for flexible use as R&D offices and/or laboratory suites, providing one suite of 28,000 sq ft and a further 16 smaller suites ranging from 1,510 sq ft to 1,965 sq ft.

The delegation were then taken on a tour of the Park where they were able to see first-hand the sympathetic development of the Park to date, which includes the regeneration of original buildings as well as the development of new purpose-built laboratory and research space.

Martin Sylvester commented of the visit: “We were extremely pleased to host the Yantai delegation at Chesterford.  I take it as a great complement to the successful development of the Park to be asked by East of England International to share our experiences”.

Joan Zhou, China Project Co-Ordinator, East of England International said: “The facilities at Chesterford Research Park are of the highest standard, offering current tenants state of the art premises and superb central services.  As such we were delighted to be able to offer our visitors the opportunity of meeting with the team at Chesterford to discover just what it takes to develop and manage a successful research park”.

From Chesterford the delegation’s next stop was Scotland, to glean further insights into science park development, before heading back to China to continue with their own development plans for Yantai.