Gloucestershire's Barnwood Construction poised to build Milton Park's £40m Nebula development
Oxfordshire's Milton Park, one of Europe's leading science, business and technology hubs, is set to be home to seven new research and development (R&D) units in a £40 million scheme.
Gloucestershire-based Barnwood Construction has been appointed by real estate developer MEPC to build the 80,000 sq ft Nebula scheme on the eastern edge of the 214-acre park.
READ MORE: Oxford's Wild Bioscience expands Milton Park base
"We’re looking forward to working with Barnwood Limited again and the rest of the team on this stellar project, which will further regenerate and gentrify the eastern entrance to the park," said Kathryn Andrew, development manager at MEPC Milton park.
"Nebula forms part of our development plans and aligns closely to our 2040 Vision for the Park, which will deliver flexible laboratory and office space to support 10,000 new jobs and create a 24/7 sustainable hub for innovation.
"The development will serve as a launch-pad for occupiers gravitating towards flexible, adaptable workspaces, giving them the ability to scale quickly when innovation begins to skyrocket," she added.
The announcement comes amid World Space Week where the UK Space Agency has announced up to £65 million of funding for ground-breaking innovations in a bid to boost UK leadership in space technologies and applications.
David Piper, the joint managing director at Barnwood Ltd, said: "Delivering projects that are sustainable and pragmatic whilst incorporating our clients’ visions is a central part of our ethos."
Each building will feature sustainably sourced glue-laminated timber in lieu of steel and vaulted ceilings.
The Nebula scheme is being built to meet BREEAM ‘Excellent’ sustainability standards - the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for infrastructure and building- and an A-rating Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) - the top band for building energy efficiency - is being targeted.
Following a £7m infrastructure investment, occupiers at Nebula will have access to Milton Park’s enhanced power capacity, accommodating future demands with energy purchased by MEPC on a green tariff.
Working alongside Milton Park and Barnwood as part of the project team are SRA Architects, ASA Landscape Architects, Ridge & Partners LLP (BREEAM, cost management, M&E, principal design, project management), Stantec (civil and structural engineering), Mainer Associates (sustainability consultant), William Downie Associates (utilities) and Cundall (carbon consultant).
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