Life sciences construction could create transformative economic growth for the country, a leading voice in urban regeneration has said.
The UK has an opportunity to “tap into [its] roots” and deliver a “second industrial revolution” if it builds enough science infrastructure, Jackie Sadek told the Life Sciences and Research Clusters conference, hosted by Construction News and Property Week.
Sadek chairs the UK Innovation Corridor, a partnership of organisations spanning the region between London and Cambridge, including several life sciences clusters.
“Where the real estate industry meets the life science industry, we could see economic growth that could potentially save our nation,” she said.
Sadek called for developers to have a clearer focus on life sciences, arguing that building ordinary offices and trying to declare them as life sciences real estate is not sufficient.
“Please… acutely listen to what life sciences are telling you about space, because it isn’t good enough just to build a bit of office space.
“There are a lot of people who seem to think they can just call something a life science cluster and it’ll be fine. It’s not good enough.”
Sadek made the comments during her keynote speech at the Life Sciences and Research Clusters conference on Thursday (27 June).
The event brought together around 200 people to hear from contractors, developers and engineers on how to tap into the growing demand for lab space.
Sadek’s 40-year career includes stints as specialist adviser to the government on urban regeneration and chair of the British Urban Regeneration Association. She contributed to the 2013 Grimsey Review, which called for radical action from the government to revitalise declining high streets.
