The Bristol & Bath Science Park is a hub for the region’s many science and technology businesses, connecting entrepreneurs, fledgling businesses, and established brands with vital investors, academia, and design. It provides a professional and supportive environment for collaboration between universities and businesses to accelerate the commercialisation of new and applied technologies.
The Universities of Bath, Bristol, and West of England are key stakeholders in the Science Park. The Science Park is also active in the wider Bristol tech and science ecosystem promoting and generating opportunities for tenants.
The Bristol & Bath Science Park provides the space, flexibility and support for science and technology businesses to accelerate their growth. The 59 acre (24 hectare) site in Emersons Green, north Bristol, is easily accessible by rail, air and the M4 and M5 motorways. The Park opened in September 2011.
The first phase comprises three buildings: the Forum, Innovation Centre, and Grow-On-Centre. The Forum, with its striking 11,000 sq ft glass atrium, is open to the public and provides a social heart for the Park, with space to meet, eat, collaborate, and network .
The 25,000 sq ft Innovation Centre provides early-stage companies with the space they need to grow on flexible terms, accommodating their swiftly changing needs. The Grow-On-Centre provides another 25,000 sq ft of space for more mature businesses, which include HIETA using innovative 3D printing to produce light weight metal components, TDK- Lambda focused on advanced electronics, and CFMS, a Rolls Royce consortium backed supercomputer for modelling and simulation. It is ideal for companies that need flexible terms as well as the support of a lively business community.
Accommodation across both facilities includes small and large offices serviced and non-serviced-semi-industrial workspace, laboratories and conference facilities as well as high bandwidth and excellent communications. The Science Park is home to the National Composites Centre, one of the Advanced Manufacturing Catapult Centres. This world class research facility brings together companies and academics to develop new methods for the rapid manufacture of high value composite products, which is a major growth opportunity for the UK. In 2014 it opened a new 100,000 sq ft wing to accommodate new industries.
Sustainable Development
Sustainability is the driving force behind the design, construction, and operating principles of the Science Park. The Park buildings and National Composites Centre are rated BREEAM Excellent and the site has been recognised as CEEQUAL Excellent.
The first two buildings have 200 metres (154 panels) of photovoltaic roofing, shared across the Innovation and Grow-On Centres, providing 10% of their energy and cutting more than 13 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Renewable energy for the site is provided through distributed energy centres. The first energy centre is powered by a biomass boiler, using locally sourced wood chip. Future energy centres will incorporate new renewable technologies to help occupiers increase the percentage of energy they derive from sustainable sources.
The Forum building opens out on to a large green communal space, where the original topography of the entire site has been preserved, including retaining existing hedgerows and stone walls. Electric cars and bikes are available on-site for use by tenants at the Park.
Sustainable Community
The Science Park is socially sustainable, and is positioned to be an integrated element of the local community. The site is designed to be “permeable”, with local transport running through the development rather than round it and easy access to significant leisure space. Employment opportunities at all levels are being created by resident companies for those who live at Emerson‘s Green.
Located for Success
Whether it’s the Innovation and Grow-On Centres or the remaining development plots on-site, every area of the Park is designed to support businesses through each stage of their development. We want you to find inspiration and be inspired by everything you see around the Science Park. The bright, open, airy spaces are designed to facilitate chance encounters and creative collisions and, although we can’t take credit for it, the very ground we have built on holds an inspirational story.
As long ago as 400-600AD, this was the site of the most extensive and sophisticated post-Roman foundry. We have great neighbours too. Within six miles of the Park are a number of world-class research-based companies, making for a strong-rooted business community. Central eating, meeting, and conferencing spaces combined with open green areas help create a vibrant, dynamic place for forward-thinking businesses to Connect, Grow and Develop.