Businessman Sean Reilly has unveiled the scale of his ambitions for a ‘genuinely net zero’ science and technology park to create up to 1,250 “high skilled jobs” on former brickworks previously known as Saxon and Victory Works, Peterborough Road, Whittlesey.
The outline application to Fenland District Council seeks approval for approximately 65,000m2 of gross internal floor area.
It even includes a floating gym and café on an existing lake which will also be open outside of working hours.
His application says his design team have spent the past year developing the scheme and consulting with local authorities and the Whittlesey community.
Units dotted around the site will include offices, laboratories and a renewable energy and innovation centre. A multi storey car park is also envisaged.
“A floating walkway across the lake will provide access to a floating building which will house a café and gym that will be for use by the public as well as users of the campus,” says a planning statement by Stephen Rice, a director of the new company set up by Mr Reilly to oversee the scheme.
“An extensive network of foot/cycleways will provide access throughout the park and link to a circular route around the site through the existing vegetated areas.
“These footpaths and cycleways will also be open to the public for recreational purposes.”
He adds: “The development includes a significant amount of renewable energy infrastructure.
“These will include ground and roof mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and ground heat pumps using deep boreholes sunk into the site to extract ground source heat.
“Air source heat pumps will be installed on buildings where appropriate, and the lake will be used for both extraction of heat and cooling purposes.
“In time and as technology develops it is envisaged that bladeless wind technology will be incorporated on the buildings to provide wind generated electricity that will complement the solar generation.”
Access includes a new road from the A605 into the campus; a fourth arm off the existing eastern roundabout on the Ralph Butcher Causeway is proposed.
Mr Rice says a state-of-the-art Energy and Innovation Centre will be constructed in phase 1.
“The centre will coordinate distribution of onsite generated heat and electricity to all facilities on site,” he says. “The 5G district heat network will allow the sharing of heat and cooling facilities seamlessly throughout all buildings.
“Heat will be recovered from ground, air and water source heat pumps and stored in an integral heat store forming part of the Energy and Innovation Centre.
“Vital Energi are currently investigating the potential to recover low grade heat from neighbouring industrial processes, this heat would be channelled back through the Energy and Innovation Centre and potentially redistributed to community facilities in Whittlesey.
“All electricity consumed on site will be generated from onsite roof and ground mounted solar photovoltaic panels, electricity will also be stored in an integrated battery storage facility within the Energy and Innovation Centre.
“The proposed development would make a significant contribution towards addressing the identified demand for offices, laboratories and high-grade manufacturing space within the Fenland and wider district.
“There is significant unmet demand within the region for Net Zero buildings providing bespoke environments for science and technology-based businesses.
“The site is located within extremely close proximity to the existing clusters in Cambridge and Huntingdon and this development would make a very significant contribution to growth in Fenland, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and nationally.”
Mr Rice says the new park “would make a very effective and efficient use of the land.
“There are many features forming part of the proposed development that would contribute to enabling healthy lifestyles such as the access routes for walking and cycling, the community park and a gym.
“The proximity of the site to the town would also allow people to walk or cycle to work.
“The science park would provide a wide range of local employment opportunities in different sectors of the economy particularly during its ten-year construction phase.
“It makes provision for an appropriate level of leisure use and there would also be conference facilities on site which would be made available to the local community.”
And, he adds, “an allowance has already been made within the proposed design for the inclusion of a pre-school facility on the campus”.
Mr Rice says: “The scheme is deliverable; the entire site is in single ownership.”
He added that the science park “is highly unlikely to have any adverse noise impacts on the closest residential properties” and “extremely unlikely to cause any noise impact or adverse impact on air quality”.
FACT FILE
Full details on Fenland Council website under planning applications.
F/YR24/0903/O | Erect up to 65,000 sq m floor space consisting of E (b)(d)(f) (amenity buildings) and E (G)(i)(ii)(iii) (office, laboratory and manufacturing) including renewable energy infrastructure, parking, country park and other associated infrastructure (outline application with matters committed in respect of access and layout) | Land Adjacent New Saxon Works Peterborough Road Whittlesey Cambridgeshire
