Granta Park

He started negotiations in 1992 for an option to buy the 87 acres of farm land, on which Granta Park is now built, and obtained the planning permission from South Cambridgeshire District Council, which laid down the basic concept for a high quality, low density, fully landscaped development.

A design team comprising Latz+Partner,[1] a leading German landscape design company and Eric Parry Architects developed the master plan for the park in consideration of ecological criteria with the aim of preserving and enhancing the existing rural landscape and ensuring the site would be easily accessible.

Bevan Braithwaite, the Chief Executive of TWI Ltd, teamed-up with Councillor Shirley Saunders, Chairman of South Cambridgeshire District Council, and Gavin Davidson of MEPC plc to launch the building of a cluster of modern R&D facilities.

[4] Set around a cricket pitch and overlooking a new lake in the wooded grounds adjacent to Abington Hall, the buildings contain research facilities and business accommodation for several thousand staff.

Granta Park provides not only new facilities for The Welding Institute's extensive R&D laboratories but also fulfils a need for purpose-built locations for the area's expanding biotech and technology sector.

A view of Granta Park in Spring 2024
Abington Hall on Granta Park contains rooms of TWI's training school and Plant Integrity Ltd