Two large science buildings are to be built in Oxford, England, by Carter Jonas the UK-based property consultancy.

Harwell Oxford campus

Harwell Oxford Campus

Planning approval has been granted for the properties at the Harwell Campus, which will comprise more than 14,867m², set in a leading science, technology and business innovation park.

The first building will provide a new 4,170m² research and development facility for the newly established Rosalind Franklin Institute, a government-funded initiative to create a national centre for interdisciplinary science.

The Institute is dedicated to bringing about transformative changes in life science through interdisciplinary research and technology development.

Simultaneously, Carter Jonas secured approval for the new National Satellite Test Facility, in response to the UK Space Agency’s need for a central facility in the UK.

The 10,697m² building will provide a world-class set of co-located amenities for the assembly, integration and testing of space payloads and satellites. It will enable British companies to develop the next generation of launch technologies and testing capabilities to allow the UK to construct satellites and deliver payloads into orbit.

Nicky Brock, Partner, Carter Jonas said: ‘It is an honour to have secured two consents on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council at the UK home for innovation Harwell Campus, which is the first step to delivering these two new facilities of national importance.

‘The Rosalind Franklin Institute will follow in the spirit of its namesake by developing unique new techniques and tools and applying them for the first time to biological problems.

‘Meanwhile access to co-located world-class facilities at the National Satellite Test Facility will enable British industry to bid competitively for more national and international satellite contracts, ensuring the UK remains a world-leader in space technologies for decades to come.’