Planning for life sciences: an update

The Government is embarking on a number of radical reforms of the planning system. To date, the majority of the headlines have been focussed on the Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million homes over the course of the parliament. However, the Government’s central mission is to deliver growth – and it views the life sciences industry as an integral means of achieving this goal. 

Industrial Strategy

In November 2024, the Government produced an Industrial Strategy which identified eight growth-driving sectors, including life sciences. The Government considers that this sector offers “unparalleled opportunities for future economic growth”, in terms of scope for groundbreaking new treatments, personalised healthcare and innovative manufacturing processes. Four out of the top 10 global universities for life sciences and medicine are located in the UK and the Government hopes this power can be harnessed to renew the UK’s leadership in life sciences. 

Planning Barriers

Planning constraints are identified in the Industrial Strategy as a barrier to the growth of the life sciences sector. Locations such as Cambridge, where there is a well-established life sciences cluster, have been plagued by difficulties including those relating to water scarcity. The lengthy and at times uncertain process for obtaining planning permission is deterring new entrants to the life sciences market.

Planning opportunities: the return of the Arc 

The Labour Government has re-committed to building transport links between Oxford and Cambridge. This marks a return to the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, a concept for growth that was promoted back in 2021 (see our article here) but then shelved by the Johnson Government a year later. It is estimated that the East West Rail project could generate £6.7 billion of growth per year in Oxford-Cambridge by 2050, including by enhancing the life sciences cluster and supporting up to 28,000 jobs in Cambridge alone.

Next steps

There is still work to do in terms of realising the potential for growth in the UK’s life sciences sector. However, the Government has: 

• committed to generating a sector plan for life sciences to help form objectives and policy that can address any barriers to growth; 
• undertaken non-statutory consultation on East West Rail, with a view to delivering trains between Oxford and Bedford by 2030;
• introduced to Parliament legislation that is intended to help streamline the planning process for the delivery of infrastructure and improve decision making (see here).

Despite the barriers of the current planning system, life sciences schemes continue to come forward, such as the new life sciences cluster in Whitechapel.  Assuming the Government fulfils its commitments, the future of the life science sector looks bright.