Land deal paves way for new Science Park
12 April 2008
70 acres east of the M5 near Junction 29 at Redhayes
On behalf of The South West of England Regional Development Agency terms have been negotiated for the purchase of 70-acres of land east of Junction 29 M5 Exeter for the development of a new 700,000 ft² Science Park.
The Park is to be built by a consortium of stakeholders including Devon County Council, Exeter University, the Met Office, SWRDA, East Devon District Council and Exeter City Council.
Phase I of the development will be a joint venture with Eagle One and will include a new high quality hotel and conference centre, a science park centre and approximately 100,000 ft² of science park space.
The scheme will involve major improvements to Junction 29 and a new public transport corridor to serve the new East of Exeter Growth Point, the Cranbrook residential settlement, Skypark, the Airport and Inter-modal Freight Terminal.
The site has been purchased by Devon County Council with grant funding from the RDA of circa £20 million and contributions from the other stakeholders to pump-prime the initial phase.
This highly complicated transaction involved four sets of legal advisors, masterplanners, highway engineers and infrastructure consultants. The planning application is being prepared for submission to East Devon District Council during the summer of 2008.
Our role has been to negotiate terms for the purchase, the joint venture with Eagle One, advice on gateway policy, masterplanning, planning and compulsory purchase.
This is a major development for the south west of England and will mirror the new Science Park for Bristol, which is being developed by Quintain.
