55°51′38.93″N 3°11′19.93″W / 55.8608139°N 3.1888694°W The Biocampus is an enterprise area in Midlothian, Scotland. It is part of the larger Edinburgh Science Triangle, which includes the Edinburgh BioQuarter and was the first dedicated national bio-manufacturing campus.[1] Development on the site is supported through financial incentives and business rate reduction through the Scottish Government's enterprise area scheme.[2]
The campus was established in 2001 with a 12-hectare (30-acre) site to facilitate large-scale biomanufacturing, with the initial development costing around £15 million.[3] There are outline plans in place to expand the site with a further 1,400 square metres (15,000 sq ft) for a phase 2 project.[4][when?] The first facility on the campus was opened by Alba Bioscience, a subsidiary of Quotient, a company offering tests related to blood transfusion diagnostics.[5] The firm received a Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2016 for their work in Midlothian both at the BioCampus site and the nearby Pentlands science park.[3]
The campus has close links to a number of university departments including Heriot-Watt University, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh.[4]
An evaluation in 2005 estimated that enterprise zones across Scotland had generated 58,000 full time jobs at a total public cost of £17,000 per ten-year job.[6] However, some commentators have criticised the tax breaks and financial support given to private companies through enterprise zones, highlighting evidence that very few new high-quality jobs are created with most of the jobs being transferred from other parts of the country.[7]
See also edit
Other life science enterprise areas in Scotland include: Edinburgh BioQuarter; Forres, Moray; Inverness Campus, Highland; and Irvine, North Ayrshire.[8]
References edit
- ^ "Midlothian Council - Midlothian Local Development Plan 2017 - 4.3 Midlothian Campus of Edinburgh Science Triangle". midlothian-consult.objective.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ "Supporting business: Enterprise Areas - gov.scot". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Royal honour for Midlothian science firm". www.midlothianadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ a b "BioCampus, science and research location within the Midlothian Science Zone | Midlothian Science Zone". midlothiansciencezone.com. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Injection of confidence for capital". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ Nicol, Scherie (2012). Enterprise Areas (PDF). Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
- ^ Potter, Jonathan; Moore, Barry (2000). "UK Enterprise Zones and the Attraction of Inward Investment". Urban Studies. 37 (8): 1279–1311. doi:10.1080/00420980020080141. ISSN 0042-0980. JSTOR 43196555. S2CID 155052693.
- ^ "Enterprise Areas: maps - gov.scot". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 4 March 2020.