Babraham Institute - future plans and their impact

Last week I went over to the Babraham Institiute, to hear Derek Jones, their CEO, talk through the plans for expansion on the site. It is a very successful incubator for bio-tech start-ups, and part of the huge growth in this sector in and around Cambridge, which now accounts for 10% of Europe's bio-tech businesses. It isnt in the commercial sector, as it gets its funding from the government. 

The site fills up with new companies as fast as space becomes available. The next expansion would have to be on green belt land and the balance is between the success of the site and protecting the green belt. Iasked about the spread of jobs locally and any analysis of traffic increases as a result. Other questions were primarily about the impact on Babraham village, which has fears that this would not be the last application for further building.

This week I went along to Babrham Parish Council meeting as the Institute was presenting to the residents of the village, with the same issue of green belt land coming up in the Q&A session afterwards.