Crown Estate acquires land for science hub expansion

The land is next to the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus

The Crown Estate has acquired a plot of land next to a major science hub in Oxfordshire as part of a pledge to invest £1.5bn into the sector.

The Harwell East site, in south Oxfordshire, has been earmarked for the development of a potential 4.5m sq ft (420,000 sq m) of office, laboratory and manufacturing space and up to 400 new homes.

It means the land will be added to the extensive portfolio of the Crown Estate, which oversees the royal family's land and property holdings.

The 221-acre site sits next to the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus - which is home to companies including vaccine-maker Moderna and the UK Space Agency.

Harwell East, which is currently farmland, is expected to be developed to provide more space for labs and advanced manufacturing facilities to help meet growing demand among businesses.

More than 50 organisations have joined the leading science hub in the past two years.

The then Prince Charles visited the Harwell Campus in 2022

The Crown Estate said there was currently a lack of space for early-stage businesses in locations such as Oxford, making it harder for them to stay and expand in the UK.

It is working to secure planning permission to build on the area.

Dan Labbad, chief executive of the Crown Estate, said: "The ambition of Harwell East is to create the space for great science to flourish, and to fuel growth and success not just in the region but for the benefit of the whole country."

The science minister, Lord Vallance, said: "Opening up Harwell East could help the brilliant businesses and innovators based here to expand and tackle the great challenges of our era, with access to the labs, facilities, and homes they need to do their work.

The Crown Estate has pledged to invest up to £1.5bn in the science, technology and innovation sectors across the UK over 15 years.

It is run as an independent business, but belongs to the monarch for the duration of their reign, with a £15 billion portfolio of property that spans the country including London's West End.

Profits made by the company are partly used to fund the work of the monarchy.