Milton Park breaks ground with science minister on £40m Nebula development

Published by

Daniel Face

Science minister Andrew Griffith MP visited Milton Park in Oxfordshire recently to take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for Nebula, a £40m research and development scheme.

The 80,000 sq ft development will combine high-tech, flexible R&D spaces with offices, providing for science, tech and advanced engineering businesses.

A ‘science superpower’ themed time capsule was also buried at the ceremony, complete with lab and tech equipment contributed by park staff and occupiers.

The minister was then taken on a tour of Evotec and Immunocore’s labs at the park.

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Mr Griffith said: “Breaking ground at Milton Park’s Nebula development today is a tangible step in the future of scientific and technological advancement in the UK.

“This state-of-the-art facility will facilitate those achieving breakthroughs from engineering to life sciences, support skilled jobs here in Oxfordshire, and enhance the UK’s position as a science superpower.”

The scheme will see the construction of seven buildings ranging from 6,000 to 13,000 sq ft, with completion expected in Winter 2024.

Each will feature sustainably sourced glue-laminated timber instead of steel – helping to reduce carbon emissions – as well as high ceilings to accommodate large-scale lab and engineering equipment.

Milton Park is also investing £7m in its energy capacity, purchased by MEPC on a green tariff.

Kathryn Andrew, development manager at MEPC Milton Park, added: “Nebula will enable Milton Park’s occupiers to scale quickly when their innovation begins to skyrocket.

“We’re looking forward to providing more updates on the development’s progress over the coming year.”

Working alongside Milton Park and construction firm Barnwood Limited on the project are SRA Architects, ASA Landscape Architects, Ridge & Partners LLP (BREEAM, cost management, M&E, principal design, project management), Stantec (civil and structural engineering), William Downie Associates (utilities), Cundall (carbon consultant), CBRE (letting agent) and ProVision (planning).

Daniel Face

Born and raised in Berkshire, Dan fell into journalism after completing his bachelor’s degree in English at UCL. Writing for The Business Magazine and local Biz News sites has given him the opportunity to chat with all manner of small business owners and share their success stories with a wider audience. Outside of work, Dan enjoys live music, board games and quiz shows, and is making a slow but persistent effort to learn Spanish.