The innovation location

Against a backdrop of unprecedented growth, the seeds of dramatic change are being sown in Central Bedfordshire. Far-reaching change that will reshape the way people live their lives. This serene setting belies a hive of activity of thousands of researchers, designers, testers and innovators, working on globally significant projects that will make our world a cleaner, safer and better place.

Central Bedfordshire is home to Cranfield University, a world leader in green technology development. The university has been a leading partner of a hydrogen fuel cell project that has created a Morgan sports car that can accelerate from standing to 60mph in seven seconds, achieve a top speed of 85mph and has an energy consumption equivalent to 150 miles per gallon. The LIFECar partnership is made up of the Morgan Motor Company, QinetiQ, Cranfield and Oxford Universities, BOC and OSCar. Through a step change in energy efficiency, LIFECar demonstrates that a practical fuel cell vehicle with exciting performance and realistic range is now possible. It will achieve this by designing a car for a fuel cell, rather than incorporating a fuel cell into a car designed for a petrol engine.

Japanese car giant Nissan spends more than £3bn on research and development each year. At the centre of this research in Europe is the Nissan Technical Centre in Central Bedfordshire. Around 500 highly skilled people are employed at the site, which is pivotal in the development of next generation vehicles and further enhancements of the Nissan range.

If you drive like James Bond, many of the car chase scenes in Casino Royale were filmed at Millbrook Proving Ground. And you can rest assured that automotive technology tested at Millbrook will help make your drive a great deal safer. Millbrook is Europe’s premier test and development centre. Meanwhile Central Bedfordshire-based Electric Car Corporation recently supplied Citroen C1 ev’ie electric cars to be used by delegates at the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. This is an industry set for massive growth.

Some of the biggest and most respected global aerospace companies come to Central Bedfordshire to tap into the best brains in the business. Experts at Cranfield and BAE Systems are working on a wide range of projects from research into fuel –efficient planes to testing and development of unmanned air vehicles with organisations such as Rolls Royce, NASA and Boeing.

Team Stellar, a partnership including Cranfield University has been commissioned by the Ministry of Defence to develop technology to use robots to tackle threats. The team won first place in the MOD’s ‘Grand Challenge’ competition in 2008, producing the best autonomous robots that can identify, monitor and report military threats faced by UK troops.

Lockheed Martin INSYS facility in Ampthill, Central Bedfordshire includes a new £2m high-tech manufacturing centre and will be the centre for the manufacture of Ground Support Equipment for the Apache Attack Helicopter.

The great thing about the innovation taking place in Central Bedfordshire is that the majority of it is done in partnership and through collaboration. Organisations are actively encouraged to work together through networks based around specific sites such as Cranfield and Millbrook Technology Parks as well as through high growth business clubs and innovation partnerships that link to funding sources and venture capital. Business links to university are excellent with Cranfield University and the University of Bedforshire on the doorstep and a location almost equidistant to Oxford and Cambridge Universities. And there are currently 18 hectares of land available at Cranfield Technology Park to be filled by like-minded companies.

As well as being a hotbed of innovation Central Bedfordshire is also a great place to live. The area is at the heart of growth with many of our communities on the brink of massive expansion with new towns and villages being developed. Wixams Village will include 4,500 new homes built in the style of a traditional Bedfordshire market town, with a proposed new railway station, schools and 300 acres of open space. By 2021 around 40,000 new homes will be built in the area. These will be sympathetically developed to ensure that Central Bedfordshire retains its Market Town appeal. House prices are also comparatively low.

This high quality environment has attracted Centre Parcs to develop its fifth UK holiday village, set to open in 2013 with 700 forest villas, a hotel and full conference facilities. This development is set to massively increase the profile of the area and has already generated significant interest from other leisure based businesses attracted by the areas growing tourism sector and the availability of sites for visitor accommodation development.

To support the growth, master plans are being developed for a number of our larger towns to ensure that they retain their quality while expanding their retail and employment offer. EDAW are currently developing a master plan for Dunstable, Savills for Biggleswade and development briefs for a number of sites in Leighton Buzzard are currently being prepared for tender. This work will highlight property investment opportunities now and in the future.

To support the housing growth over 40,000 new jobs are needed. This is creating great development opportunities with new strategic employment sites currently being allocated within the core strategies for the area. These include expansion of existing business parks such as Stratton Business Park in Biggleswade, Cranfield Technology Park, around 32 acres at the former Renault Trucks site in Dunstable and re-profiling of space at Woodside in Dunstable. In terms of new employment land the creation of the new A5/M1 link road from Dunstable to a new Junction 11a on the M1 has the potential to create approximately 40 hectares of development land at possibly one of the best new strategic locations in the South East.

Great transportation, over 100 hectares of development sites available now, between two airports Stanstead and London Luton and fast rail links to London ensure that Central Bedfordshire is a great central location for innovation and opportunity.

To find out more and to receive a copy of the Development Sites Prospectus, Tel: 0300 300 5525 or email: sue.king@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk