Planning for Innovation: the Life Sciences Sector Plan

For those of us working with developers on science and technology schemes, this Plan is encouraging. It puts planning reform at the heart of unlocking the full potential of the life sciences sector and positions land, infrastructure, and delivery timelines as critical enablers of national competitiveness.

Planning reform with purpose

The Plan acknowledges what many in the sector have experienced first-hand: the planning system must adapt to the pace and needs of life sciences growth. It promises to:

• Tackle constraints that delay or restrict the delivery of lab and manufacturing space
• Enable flexible and mixed-use developments
• Streamline planning for R&D, advanced manufacturing, and tech-enabled diagnostics

This reflects a shift away from rigid planning that has failed to see the overwhelming benefits to delivering life science development and toward a model that recognises science as a fast-moving, infrastructure-dependent sector that can deliver a host of benefits locally and to the UK economy, and global standing - one that must be planned for proactively.

Local Development Orders: Clarity and Speed

One of the most promising elements of the Plan is the introduction of Local Development Orders (LDOs) in newly established Regional Health Innovation Zones (HIZs). These orders aim to:

• Pre-consent certain types of development (such as labs and clean manufacturing)
• Reduce delay and uncertainty
• Create the planning confidence needed to move from investment decision to delivery at speed

Long have our clients been frustrated by how long it can take to bring forward R&D schemes. LDOs offer a serious opportunity to change that, particularly in established and emerging clusters alike and give greater certainty at the outset to make it easier to invest and commit to life science development projects.

Innovation Ecosystems

The Government’s introduction of Health Innovation Zones reflects a need to level the playing field for life sciences clusters across the UK. Our research (Now is the Time to Go Big, 2025) shows that while 57% of spinouts originate outside the Golden Triangle, these regions receive just 28% of venture capital. HIZs offer a much-needed framework to ensure these overlooked areas are no longer held back by planning constraints, infrastructure gaps, or lack of coordinated support.

Our research shows that science and tech firms accounted for 89% of new lab and office space take-up in Cambridge, and 83% in Oxford. But life sciences is far more than a single land use. It is a complex, interconnected ecosystem — stretching from STEM education and early research, through to spinouts, clinical trials, manufacturing, and global export.

The Sector Plan acknowledges this and rightly promotes planning strategies that integrate housing for talent, active and public transport links to campuses, clean energy and utility upgrades, and placemaking that supports vibrant, inclusive communities.

We’re especially pleased to see the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor referenced in the Sector Plan as a national asset with global potential.

It’s an ecosystem already demonstrating what joined-up investment, research excellence, and land strategy can achieve. But we must go further and faster. When aligned with wider strategies for housing, transport, utilities, and skills, the life sciences sector can deliver exponential returns for UK plc.

Bidwells’ research underlines that, without the right conditions, we risk losing ground: 6% of UK spinouts have already relocated abroad (mostly to the US), and 23% have moved within the UK to access stronger ecosystems or funding.

The Plan’s emphasis on site assembly around existing R&D anchors will be key.

This is a pivotal moment to consolidate the UK’s global leadership in life sciences — but it will only happen if the national vision is matched by local delivery and planning certainty. Developers, planners, and policymakers must now align to turn ambition into infrastructure and unlock the next wave of growth.