A huge new bioscience facility is set to form part of Nottingham's Island Quarter development, it has been announced. Plans have been submitted to Nottingham City Council for a 240,000 sq ft of research and laboratory space.
The facility will be an incubator for new and growing facilities, with the development 'further enhancing the city’s reputation as the bioscience capital of the UK'. According to the plans, there will be two buildings, with one being five storeys and the other seven.
The buildings will be connected by a glazed link at the upper levels and provide a mixture of laboratory, office and meeting spaces. It will also feature rainwater gardens and medicinal planting.
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Officials say the external landscaping is designed to echo the vision for the overall site, with an ecology-focussed street that links the latest phase with the rest of The Island Quarter. This includes raised planters made with natural stone paving blocks in the style of those found in the heritage buildings.
Christopher Ware, property director at Conygar, which acquired the Island site, running between London Road and Manvers Street, said: “Nottingham has a world-renowned reputation as a leading city for innovation, and that is never more the case than in the field of biosciences. Bringing forward this phase of the development will create vital research space for some of the city’s most innovative businesses, and further grow its standing in the bioscience sector.”
The latest proposals will continue the development of the northern edge of the 36-acre development, which also features a 693-bed student accommodation block, due for completion in summer 2024.
Richard Watson of The Island Quarter project delivery team, added: “This latest phase is another significant step forward for the regeneration of The Island Quarter, bringing the potential for hundreds of new jobs and increasing the footfall across the wider site. With 1 The Island Quarter now fully open for business and the student accommodation set to be ready for the 2024/25 intake, it’s a truly exciting time not just for the project, but for the city as a whole.”
It comes after the new fine dining canalside restaurant Cleaver & Wake opened in October after years of planning with 2018 MasterChef: The Professionals winner Laurence Henry at the helm. The restaurant follows the opening of Binks Yard earlier this year.
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