Constructing Life Science Excellence

Science Park CEO, Robin Chave, was delighted to be invited to be a panellist at the Life Sciences and Research Clusters conference in London.

Organised by Property Week and Construction News, the event was timely, coming immediately after the government published The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy 2025: a plan to increase business investment and grow the industries of the future. Prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said the Strategy, “marks a turning point for Britain’s economy and a clear break from the short-termism” and would deliver “the long-term certainty and direction British businesses need to invest, innovate and create good jobs that put more money in people’s pockets as part of the plan for change.”

This backdrop made for an interesting debate among panellists and audience at the conference, many of whom spoke about the challenge of funding new facilities for innovation, from securing capital investment to managing material build costs. “Quite a few participants drew out the sharp contrast between grand strategic pronouncements and the nitty-gritty of providing spaces for growing companies,” said Lem Bingley, Editor of Property Week. Rather more encouragingly though, he also pointed out that “the life sciences sector is able to rise to any challenges that come along", and that “talent and ingenuity are not limited to London and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. Rather, innovative science is being undertaken in cutting-edge buildings up and down the land.”

This challenge and the opportunity resonated with Robin, having recently secured permission to commence building a life sciences centre of excellence at Southampton Science Park, which will cement the Central South region’s contribution to this critical and flourishing economic sector.

Reflecting on the conference, he said, “It was a pleasure to be involved in this event and to have an opportunity to share experiences and learnings with peers across the scientific and construction sectors. A key takeout for me was the quality and depth of knowledge of the delegates contributing to the cluster collaboration session, and the insights that these sessions were able to bring to the topics under discussion.”