A new £14.1 million investment sets the stage for a site in Sutton, south London, to become the world’s leading hub for cancer research and treatment.
The London Borough of Sutton has purchased a further 2.23 hectares of NHS land on the site of one of the UK’s most significant regeneration projects, The London Cancer Hub.
The London Cancer Hub aims to be a global centre for cancer innovation, bringing together scientists, doctors, innovative companies, patients and the local community.
It is a partnership between the London Borough of Sutton and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, working with the support of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, The Mayor of London and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The £14.1 million deal doubles the land previously purchased on the site for cancer research and commercial enterprise – following a £14 million investment to buy 2.22 hectares in 2017.
A pioneering ‘Knowledge Centre’ will be one of a series of state-of-the-art academic and commercial buildings to be developed on the newly acquired land.
The Knowledge Centre will be the heart of research, knowledge sharing, commercial innovation, teaching and communication for The London Cancer Hub – hosting laboratories, academic and private-sector meeting facilities, public exhibition space and a rooftop viewing gallery.
The centrepiece building will encourage the intermingling of scientists, clinicians, commercial staff and the public – stimulating new ideas that will help drive advances in cancer research and translation for patient benefit.
The London Cancer Hub promises to be a world-leading life-science campus anchored by new research buildings, restaurants and hotel accommodation, and co-located with hospital facilities of The Royal Marsden. It is set to create 13,000 jobs while contributing more than £1 billion to the UK economy each year.
A further 1.6 hectares of land on the site was purchased in 2015 for a new secondary school. Building work is now underway on the £40m Harris Academy Sutton, a science-specialist school which is set to nurture the next generation of young scientists. The school will be completed by September 2019 and open in a temporary building from September 2018.
The London Cancer Hub project will shortly be seeking commercial partners to begin developing buildings on the newly acquired land.
The London Cancer Hub demonstrates the UK’s and London’s ambitions to remain a world leader in life sciences after the country leaves the European Union. Life-science clusters like The London Cancer Hub will play an important role in the delivery of the Government’s life sciences industrial strategy.
The project will accelerate progress in making the discoveries that will defeat cancer – enabling The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) to discover more cancer drugs, and alongside its hospital partner, The Royal Marsden, increase the chances that they will be successfully developed for patients.
The Hub will be developed on the Sutton site of the ICR and The Royal Marsden, and is ultimately intended to cover 280,000 square metres.
Councillor Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council, said:
“The London Cancer Hub is one of the most exciting projects to be happening nationally, so I am very proud that it is happening here in our borough. Our ambition is that this will become one of the most important sites for cancer research, treatment and diagnosis in the world.”
Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:
“It’s exciting to reach such an important milestone in creating The London Cancer Hub. Purchasing this new tranche of land now unlocks the site for development, allowing ourselves and the London Borough of Sutton to seek commercial partners with expertise in constructing state-of-the-art life-science parks.
“The London Cancer Hub will be a magnet for the world’s top cancer researchers, clinicians, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and other innovative enterprises working in a virtuous circle.
“We are hugely grateful to our partners at the London Borough of Sutton for making the capital investment to take this project forward. Working with them and our hospital partner, The Royal Marsden, and with the support of The Mayor of London, we are going to bring about transformative change in cancer research and treatment.”
Rajesh Agrawal, London’s Deputy Mayor for Business, said:
“London is already a hotbed of scientific research and innovation and schemes like this can only enhance the capital’s reputation as a world-renowned centre for groundbreaking medical advances.”
