Cambridge has reportedly run out of laboratory space and risks losing its status as a key life science hub.
Local agents have estimated that there is demand for around 1m sq ft of lab space in and around Silicon Fen, but there is currently no space under construction. Two sites that would have added 600,000 sq ft have been turned down or deferred in recent months.
“We have this bottleneck in the system. Planning permission is just taking so long,” said Michael Jones, head of commercial at Cheffins.
Andrew Groves, head of capital markets at Bidwells, said there was a “critical undersupply” of lab space in Cambridge and across the country. In a 160-page report, Bidwells estimated that if the UK “fails to accommodate the expansion of high-value life science and tech… economic growth will fall at least £50bn short of its full potential”.
And domestic rivals are emerging to threaten Cambridge’s crown. Canary Wharf Group last week unveiled plans to build a 750,000 sq ft lab in the London business district.
“For a long time, Silicon Fen was important to people within a 20-mile radius,” Jones said. “Now it is on the global stage and we must not lose that because we cannot satisfy demand.”
