COMMENT

Policy I/ST: Sustainable Transport and Connectivity set out how the transport impacts of development should be managed, and how new development should be connected to the transport network. An aim of the policy is to reduce transport emissions. The preferred development strategy seeks to co-locate housing close to jobs, services and facilities in order to reduce the need to travel and support travel by walking, cycling and public transport. This approach is consistent with Paragraphs 104 and 105 of the NPPF and is supported. However, it is considered of the aim of Policy I/ST will only be fully implemented if all available opportunities to direct development to sustainable locations are taken, including additional development being directed to Sawston.

Additionally, the Mill Lane Site is owned by Northwest Biotherapeutics (NW Bio), a biotechnology company developing novel immune therapies to treat cancer. NW Bio’s DCVax®-L immune therapy for Glioblastoma brain cancer is in the NIHR's Priority Portfolio, and was the first product to receive PIM designation as a Promising Innovative Medicine from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MRHA). NW Bio currently has offices in London and is developing an advanced manufacturing and technology development facility in Sawston, where they are working together with Advent BioServices to develop the Vision Centre on the former Spicers site. Advent is one of only a small number of companies in the world that specializes in technology/process development and advanced manufacturing for cell and tissue therapies for cancer and other diseases.

Since our previous submission, significant progress has been made in the physical development of the Vison Centre. Most importantly, it is expected within the next week or two that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will be granting certification of Phase One of the production facility to ramp-up production to 45 self paying patients per month under their Specials/Compassionate Treatment Program. This milestone approval represents 7 months of testing and MHRA reviews and inspections involving all of the now 39 staff and growing. In turn, this major event for the entire area has been facilitated by the following developments at the plant itself over since our previous submission of representatives, including the following:

• Significant upgrade to two clean room suites to enable these to be Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) compliant
• Warehouse incorporating Goods in/quarantine and a temperature controlled store
• Two process development laboratories
• Quality control laboratory
• Freezer facility incorporating room for 60 x -80C freezers (currently 30 freezers in place)
• Construction of further office to support freezer facility
• State-of the-art Ultra cold Liquid Nitrogen facility with the capacity to store up to 3,000,000 samples at -196C for third party clients
• Installation of a nitrogen generator which removes and liquifies N2 from the atmosphere – removes the need for weekly deliveries of gas to site
• Cell therapy product goods in/out rooms
• Data management centre containing 3 towers loaded with processers and other essential IT equipment
• Installation of lift shafts and stairs to upper floor
• Fitting out of additional office space
• Creation of corridors for materials, staff and waste

The following infrastructure also has now been put in place to serve the Vision Centre:

• Installation of emergency generator, boiler, uninterrupted power supply, air handling units
• Installation of BT fibre network
• Installation of environmental monitoring equipment and software – monitors temperatures, pressures, air changes, humidity 24/7
• Installation and implementation of a quality management system and the writing of over 1000 regulatory documents
• Installation of electricity supply to futureproof the building and remove the VC from the larger site network
• Implementation of a laboratory information management system
• Development of website
• Awarded licences from the Human Tissue Authority for cell storage
• Underwent inspection from MHRA -awaiting licence to manufacture advanced therapy products for UK Specials programme and for clinical trials

The Vision Centre is located just across the A1301, a 5 or 10-minute walk from the proposed residential site on Mill Lane. The Vision Centre is an advanced manufacturing facility that will produce cell therapy products for the UK and for export to the European Union and other geographies. The development of the Vision Centre will involve the creation of up to 450 new high-value jobs across a wide range of skill levels in phases over the next few years.

Recruitment has also taken place since the submission of previous representations and the total number of employees at the Vision Centre is now 40. These include manufacturing scientists, QA and QC staff, facilities management, IT, clinical coordinator, administration, validation experts, HR and finance personnel. This also includes the recruitment of three apprentices as part of the national network ATAC scheme in cell and gene therapy, with a fourth apprentice to be taken on shortly.

Some of the staff that have been taken on to date are from the local area but other are from elsewhere in UK including London, Stevenage, Bedfordshire, Kent, Berkshire, and Suffolk. It is not possible for all staff to be recruited from the local area as a result of the need to recruit Qualified persons (for regulatory purposes).

A key factor which will affect the pace at which personnel can be hired for these jobs will be the availability of housing nearby to the Vision Centre. A proportion of Vision Centre employees will have to live close to the site because producing and managing living cell products requires unpredictable and varied hours (e.g., when tissues are received from hospitals for processing at any time of the day or evening). The jobs at the Vision Centre are and will continue to be for a range of employees, from school leavers through to PhD level. This will result in increased employment and learning opportunities within Sawston and South Cambridgeshire as a whole, which will have benefits for social inclusion.

The ability of other employees of the Vision Centre to live in close proximity to the site will also have clear benefits for their mental health and well-being, by avoiding the need for significant commuting and promoting opportunities for active forms of travel, such as walking and cycling. The residential development of the Mill Lane Site, Sawston would also provide additional housing that is much needed for nearby surrounding employment sites, including existing sites to the east and north of Sawston; Huawei’s emerging business and research campus at the former Spicers site; Granta Park; Cambridge Biomedical Campus; and the expanding Wellcome Genome Campus.

The Mill Lane Site is also in a location with extensive existing transport access by walking, cycling, bus and train and the Site has good accessibility (a 15 minute or so walk or a short cycle ride) to existing services and facilities within Sawston including nurseries, schools, doctors, dentists, pharmacy, opticians, sports centre, pubs, convenience stores, hairdressers and beauticians. Having all of these services and facilities within close proximity of the Site will allow future occupants to access these services using sustainable travel modes, thus reducing emissions associated with use of the private car, and will assist the development, and its occupants, in integrating into the wider Sawston community. New residents at this site, and the associated increased spending power of the village and potential employees, could also encourage the creation of new businesses with Sawston.

The nearest bus stops are located on Cambridge Road within an acceptable walking distance of the site via the existing footways on Mill Lane and New Road, and provide access to Bus Services Citi 7 and 7A, and are likely to be used by future residents of the site to access existing services and facilities in Sawston and beyond. The nearest railway station is Whittlesford Parkway Railway Station which can easily be reached by private car and bus, and is within an acceptable cycling distance of the site, and likely to be used by future residents of the site to access existing services and facilities in Cambridge and the wider area surrounding the site.

The promoted development by NW Bio in Sawston is accessible by walking, cycling and public transport to the services and facilities within the village and to existing employment opportunities. The development of the Mill Lane Site would also be beneficial to the pace at which new employment opportunities generated by the Vision Centre can be brought forward. Therefore, additional development at Sawston would be consistent with the aims of Policy I/ST.

Requested Change

It is requested that the promoted development by NW Bio at the Mill Lane Site, Sawston is allocated for residential development, in order to support the aims of Policy I/ST e.g. reduce transport emissions, reduce the need to travel, and encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport.