Projects

Babraham Research Campus

Client
Babraham Research Campus / BBSRC

Location
Cambridge

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Laying the Foundations for Long-Term Growth

The Babraham Research Campus has long stood at the heart of the UK’s life sciences ecosystem. Its ambitions to expand began in earnest with the approval of its first campus-wide masterplan in 2010, marking a pivotal moment in the campus’s evolution.

Bidwells’ Investment and Property Management (IPM) team supported early-stage decisions by delivering funding and development appraisals through a robust commercial lens, helping shape the strategic direction from the outset.

Expanding on the Cambridge Green Belt came with challenges, but Bidwells brought together its Planning and Project Management teams to build a compelling case. We demonstrated the very special circumstances required to unlock planning permission - making the case for Babraham’s global scientific impact, regional economic value, and the campus’s commitment to environmental responsibility.

The vision promised a biodiversity net gain of over 20%, buildings designed to reduce carbon emissions by up to 40%, and clear intent to achieve Net Zero operational carbon by 2040. Planning consent was secured in just eight months, enabling Babraham to move quickly to deliver the space its occupiers needed.

Bidwells went on to lead feasibility studies for new two-storey R&D buildings and advised on a long-term estate strategy. From Planned Preventative Maintenance and capital works to lease event strategies, our work helped ensure the campus remained resilient, efficient, and ready for continued growth.

Today, our IPM team manages the property and facilities for the new buildings delivered by our Project Management team - on behalf of one of the joint venture investor and operators. This joined-up approach ensures continuity from development through to daily operation, maximising both user experience and asset performance.

Evolving a Sustainable Life Sciences Powerhouse

Now, in an era of rapid discovery and commercialisation, the campus is undergoing a bold transformation - not just one project at a time, but through a visionary, new campus-wide masterplan that challenges convention and redefines how science and innovation will evolve over the next two decades.

Bidwells has been at the heart of this evolution, helping to shape the next twenty years of growth. We’ve been working in close partnership with Babraham’s leadership team and stakeholders, connecting the right people, ideas and expertise to ensure the campus continues to support world-class research, attract top talent, and scale businesses.

In collaboration with Bidwells as trusted advisers, Babraham is advancing a new 20-year masterplan - a bold, forward-looking framework designed to deliver 45,000 square metres of state-of-the-art lab space alongside 100 new homes for key workers. The ambition: to position Babraham Research Campus as a national exemplar of what an integrated, community-focused innovation campus can be.

The homes will be created through the densification and redevelopment of existing on-site housing, enabling campus employees to live within walking distance of their workplace - close enough to support sustainability and wellbeing, but thoughtfully distanced to preserve a healthy separation between work and home life.

Bidwells’ project managers and planning consultants are leading the process, bringing together a multidisciplinary team to navigate the site’s complex topography, heritage setting and development footprint with determination and precision. The goal is to unlock a cohesive and sustainable plan that balances scientific ambition with placemaking, environmental responsibility, and long-term community benefit.

The planning application is expected to be submitted in summer 2025, with infrastructure delivery beginning in 2026. Development will be phased across the following two decades, shaping the future of the campus in line with evolving science and technology needs.

Three-Zone Vision for Growth:

Central Campus

Existing buildings will be repurposed or redeveloped to increase density and capability, unlocking more scientific potential without expanding the campus footprint.

Residential

A new neighbourhood of 100 key worker homes will be developed, creating a seamless interface between the village of Babraham and the campus. The ambition is to remove barriers - literally and figuratively - between science and the community.

R&D Zone 3

Located at the highest point of the site, this area will deliver half of the total new floorspace, extending the campus to the west.

Connectivity is a priority

The expanded site will improve visual and strategic links to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, with plans aligned to the region’s evolving transport infrastructure, including CSET and enhanced cycle networks.

Babraham’s vision goes beyond bricks and mortar. The masterplan will introduce a new transport hub and plaza, removing cars from the campus core to prioritise outdoor working, placemaking and sustainable travel.

This reimagined central space will include food stalls, a shop, a gym, and green, shared public spaces, all thoughtfully positioned alongside Babraham Hall - a Jacobean listed building - and the site’s historic church.

The wider ambition is to open the campus up to the local community, softening the campus edge, connecting it to the village, and reducing the perception of a closed research enclave.

By drawing on its heritage while looking decisively to the future, Babraham is creating a living, breathing innovation ecosystem that nurtures both people and ideas.

Supporting Lifelong Growth for the UK’s Life Sciences Sector

Babraham’s approach is one of scientific and economic continuity. Start-ups can emerge from the academic institute, grow into early-stage tenancy, and scale into larger spaces - all without leaving the campus. It’s a model that keeps IP, talent, and capital local.

BitBio is a prime example. Once a fledgling research group, it has grown into one of the campus’s largest occupiers - proof that, with the right environment, businesses will stay, scale, and succeed in the UK.

By supporting this model through masterplanning, asset management and delivery, Bidwells is helping Babraham set a national benchmark for what a life sciences campus can be: not just a collection of labs, but a connected, sustainable community, driven by purpose and passion, that supports innovation from inception to industry leadership.

This is a truly collaborative, multi-disciplinary partnership - bringing together planning, project management, investment and property management, and natural capital expertise to support one of the UK’s most important life sciences environments.

Spotlight on Building B960 at Babraham Research Campus

Building B960, a 38,000 sq ft lab-enabled facility was delivered to Babraham’s exacting technical standards. The specification included fully operational benching, M&E systems, data infrastructure, and capped gas pipework - everything needed to allow prospective tenants to begin light-touch fit-outs tailored to their business’s specific needs.

Bidwells was appointed by BioMed Realty, working in joint venture with Babraham Research Campus, to deliver project management, planning consultancy, and principal designer services. The project was notable, not just for its pace - planning was secured in just seven months - but for the JV model itself, which saw BioMed fund the build while Babraham retained a long-term interest.

This innovative approach marked a step change in how Babraham delivers its real estate ambitions. With 75% of the development owned by BioMed and 25% retained by Babraham, the JV model created a structure for shared value and operational control - while accelerating delivery in a highly competitive market.
B960 completed in February 2024, and with that, the original 2010 masterplan for the campus was fully realised.