Lancaster Science Park

Northwest Regional Development Agency, Lancaster City Council and Lancaster University are working in collaboration to develop a new Science Park on a site immediately adjacent to the University campus.

The vision is:

"To develop a science park adjacent to Lancaster University which will become an internationally significant centre of commercial scientific excellence."

The development of Lancaster Science Park is a key priority for the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). This site is also a designated Regional Strategic Site and the project will build on the Agency’s commitment through the Regional Economic Strategy to support major research.

The project will comprise a purpose-built Innovation Centre to house new and expanding knowledge-based businesses. It will also provide serviced sites and space for businesses wishing to co-locate with the University or spinning out from InfoLab21 and the Lancaster Environment Centre. 

Permission Granted

Plans for thenew science park with the potential to support over 1,000 jobs were granted planning permission in June 2009.

Councillor Evelyn Archer, Cabinet member with responsibility for economic development, said: “The development of a science park at Bailrigg has been a major ambition for a number of years. Lancaster University is one of our biggest economic assets, with an international reputation for the quality of its research in new technologies. The science park will provide a place where businesses can grow alongside this. It will create new businesses and new jobs. It will also provide high level jobs, which means that skilled local people, and the many graduates who pass through our two universities, can continue to stay here and work here”.

The latest proposals are a revised version of plans which were drawn up a few years ago, but subsequently withdrawn due to the need for further work to manage the potential impact of the development on the road network, in view of problems which already exist to the south of Galgate.

A series of traffic management measures have now been identified and agreed with the County Council and Highways Agency.

These include the use of MOVA (a Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation) system at the A6 Galgate junction, a new bus lay-by and parking bays, improvements to public transport and cycling, and the development of a travel plan for businesses occupying the science park to encourage car sharing and alternative forms of transport.

The project will also be delivered in a number of phases over the course of around 20 years, again lessening the impact on local roads.