Granta Park
Encyclopedia
Granta Park is a science, technology and biopharmaceutical park based on the bank of the River Granta
in Great Abington
near Cambridge
, England.
The first idea for the park came from the then Chief Executive of The Welding Institute
(TWI Ltd) Bevan Braithwaite OBE. He started negotiations in 1992 for an option to buy the key 87 acres of farm land, on which Granta Park is now built, and obtained the planning permission from South Cambridgeshire District Council, which laid down the basic concept for a high quality, low density, fully landscaped development. A design team comprising Latz
+Partner, a leading German landscape design company and Eric Parry Architects developed the master plan for the park in consideration of ecological criteria with the aim of preserving and enhancing the existing rural landscape and ensuring the site would be easily accessible. A joint partnership was formed between TWI Ltd and MEPC plc, and Granta Park Ltd was created. MEPC, who at that time had already made a success of Milton Park in Abingdon Oxfordshire, supported TWI professionally to turn Bevan Braithwaite's vision of a new Cambridge science and technology park into reality.
The new park began to take shape at Great Abington following a groundbreaking ceremony held at the end of 1997. Bevan Braithwaite, the Chief Executive of TWI Ltd, teamed-up with Councillor Shirley Saunders, Chairman of South Cambridgeshire County Council, and Gavin Davidson of MEPC plc to launch the building of a cluster of modern R&D facilities. Most of the key infrastructure was completed by summer 1998 with the development programme of the first Phase taking 5-7 years. Set around a cricket pitch and overlooking a new lake in the wooded grounds adjacent to Abington Hall, the buildings contain state-of-the-art research facilities and business accommodation for several 1000 staff.
Granta Park provides not only new facilities for The Welding Institute's extensive R&D laborites but also fulfils a need for purpose-built locations for the area's expanding biotech and technology sector. The following companies are located there:
Granta (river)
The River Granta is the name of two of the four tributaries of the River Cam, although both names are often used synonymously. The Granta, starts near the village of Widdington in Essex flowing the north past Audley End House to merge with the other contributary Rhee, which is also commonly called...
in Great Abington
Abington, Cambridgeshire
The Abingtons are a community in South Cambridgeshire consisting of two villages: Little Abington and Great Abington, south east of Cambridge.-History:...
near Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England.
The first idea for the park came from the then Chief Executive of The Welding Institute
The Welding Institute
The Welding Institute or TWI is a research and technology organisation with a specialty in welding. The Welding Institute is based in Cambridgeshire, England, since 1946, and has several offices around the world....
(TWI Ltd) Bevan Braithwaite OBE. He started negotiations in 1992 for an option to buy the key 87 acres of farm land, on which Granta Park is now built, and obtained the planning permission from South Cambridgeshire District Council, which laid down the basic concept for a high quality, low density, fully landscaped development. A design team comprising Latz
Peter Latz
Peter Latz is a German landscape architect and a professor for landscape architecture at the Technical University of Munich. He is best known for his emphasis on reclamation and conversion of former industrialized landscapes...
+Partner, a leading German landscape design company and Eric Parry Architects developed the master plan for the park in consideration of ecological criteria with the aim of preserving and enhancing the existing rural landscape and ensuring the site would be easily accessible. A joint partnership was formed between TWI Ltd and MEPC plc, and Granta Park Ltd was created. MEPC, who at that time had already made a success of Milton Park in Abingdon Oxfordshire, supported TWI professionally to turn Bevan Braithwaite's vision of a new Cambridge science and technology park into reality.
The new park began to take shape at Great Abington following a groundbreaking ceremony held at the end of 1997. Bevan Braithwaite, the Chief Executive of TWI Ltd, teamed-up with Councillor Shirley Saunders, Chairman of South Cambridgeshire County Council, and Gavin Davidson of MEPC plc to launch the building of a cluster of modern R&D facilities. Most of the key infrastructure was completed by summer 1998 with the development programme of the first Phase taking 5-7 years. Set around a cricket pitch and overlooking a new lake in the wooded grounds adjacent to Abington Hall, the buildings contain state-of-the-art research facilities and business accommodation for several 1000 staff.
Granta Park provides not only new facilities for The Welding Institute's extensive R&D laborites but also fulfils a need for purpose-built locations for the area's expanding biotech and technology sector. The following companies are located there:
- Colonix Medical Limited
- GileadGilead SciencesGilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes therapeutics. For many years since the company was founded, the company concentrated primarily on antiviral drugs to treat patients infected with HIV, hepatitis B or influenza. In 2006, Gilead acquired two...
- Intergence
- Keronite
- Mary's Ltd
- MedImmuneMedImmuneMedImmune, LLC, headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, became a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca in 2007. Since being acquired, MedImmune has remained a Maryland-based biotechnology development enterprise...
- PfizerPfizerPfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
- PPDPharmaceutical Product DevelopmentPharmaceutical Product Development is a leading global contract research organization providing discovery, development and post-approval services as well as compound partnering programs. The company’s clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and...
- Softwerx
- TWI LtdThe Welding InstituteThe Welding Institute or TWI is a research and technology organisation with a specialty in welding. The Welding Institute is based in Cambridgeshire, England, since 1946, and has several offices around the world....
- UCB CelltechUCB (company)UCB is a multinational biopharmaceutical manufacturing company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.- History :UCB was founded on 18 January 1928 by Emmanuel Janssen, a Belgian businessman...
- Vernalis
- Woodhead Publishing