February 4, 2016
Discovery Park will be showcased this week at the UKSPA Conference, the leading calendar event for the science park sector. The prestigious event is being held 4 and 5 February at Colworth Park, Bedfordshire.
It is five years this month since Pfizer announced its intention to close its entire research and development facility at Sandwich. In the event it sold the site but remained as a key tenant, retaining 650 employees.
What happened next will be the subject of a key talk being delivered at the conference by Paul Barber, Managing Director since the purchase of the site in July 2012.
From just five companies at takeover Discovery Park now has over 120 businesses employing 2,400 staff between them, a figure that will continue to grow as development of the site continues.
Paul, said:
“We’re looking forward to sharing the story so far with delegates at the conference. We’ve delighted with progress to date, but there’s a lot more to come.
“It’s been a real journey and I hope our experience – not least in terms of the culture of collaboration between tenants that we’ve successfully established here – will show just what can be achieved.”
The site has swiftly evolved into a thriving multi-business centre for science, technology and enterprise. This is set to continue in 2016 with the on-going refurbishment of Building 500, previously Pfizer’s main hub for drug discovery.
Discovery Park is recognised by central government as a flagship enterprise zone and remains one of the major centres in Europe for research and development with a reach that extends around the globe.
Closer to home the links the site has made with its community have gone a long way to ensuring it provides a lasting legacy – not least its work with education providers to spark a love of science among the next generation.