Yorkshire Day: why our region is best for bioscience
Home to stunning natural scenery, vibrant and historic cities and towns, and the birthplace of national treasures such as Marks and Spencer, Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire puddings – the list can certainly go on as to why – in our opinion – Yorkshire is the best region!
And adding to this list is the fact that Yorkshire is a thriving hub for the bioscience sector. The region is home to world-leading organisations spanning the sector from agri-tech to pharmaceuticals, who are at the forefront of innovation, research and discovery, many of whom are based here at York Biotech Campus including Abingdon Health, Fera Science and Labcorp.
So, to celebrate Yorkshire Day (1st August), we spoke to our occupiers and employees to hear from them as to why our region is best for bioscience businesses.
Nicola Kingswell, Head of Laboratories at Labskin:
“Work-life balance is a big reason to why Yorkshire is a great place to be based. Yorkshire remains affordable to live, so I know that our team is well looked after. Not to mention we have so much amazing entertainment on our doorstep for out of hours fun. York is a great historic city, but Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield are all within a short distance for amazing restaurants, shopping and nightlife. The east coast is within an hour’s drive for fish and chips with a sea view. Then there is all the sport, countryside and history of God’s Own County to explore.
“With fantastic universities, we never have to worry about filling a vacancy as we get amazing candidates through and finally, the space is such high quality! Whether that’s office or lab space, the spec is unbeatable. York Biotech Campus is a wonderful site to be based at and has allowed us the space and services to grow over the last few years.
“Yorkshire is Labskin’s heritage. We were a spin-out from the University of Leeds and initially moved to Wetherby, before setting up at York Biotech Campus. While we have global expansion plans, we would always have a home in Yorkshire. It’s in our DNA.”
Annaleigh Marshall, Property Manager at York Biotech Campus:
“The bioscience community in Yorkshire is simply remarkable! From successful universities to collaborative initiatives like BioVale and BioYorkshire, to leading hubs like ourselves – we have plenty of world-class research bodies and institutions to take advantage of.
“What’s more, we really do have some exceptional research facilities, many of which are on our site. For instance, at York Biotech Campus, we have the first fully-flow through field scale mesocosm facility in Europe, 1.2m honey bees in onsite apiaries, not to mention a brand new Insect Research Laboratory, which occupier Fera Science is opening this month. And this is just on our site alone.
“We’re so proud of our roots here in Yorkshire. It’s been exciting to watch the sector grow over the past ten years or so. Not only have more businesses encompassing all types of bioscience entered the market, but many are relocating to join us too, including government departments, which have been traditionally based down south, as they see the huge potential here. And there’s plenty more to come!”
Nicola Spence, UK’s Chief Plant Health Officer at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra):
“Yorkshire is a fantastic place to work, as it has such a dynamic bioscience community. We have great universities, many of which are leading in the country for courses relating to the sector, which means as a bioscience organisation you always have a strong pool of talent to draw upon. They also offer a range of opportunities for collaboration, ultimately helping us lead the way in research and innovation through utilising each other’s facilities, knowledge and skills.
“Community and a willingness to support each other is a major positive to Yorkshire as a region. We’re friendly, sociable and good at working together, which is key to growth and success in bioscience.”
If you want to join our community in Yorkshire, get in touch.