1979 An idea is born

1981 Park noted in the Surrey Structure Plan

1983 Outline Planning Permission granted

1984 Secured anchor tenant

1984 Infrastructure for initial phases of development

1984 Development programme begins

1985 First tenants on site

1986 Surrey Technology Centre business incubator opens

1989 65 Companies on site

2001 82% complete, 58,000m2 on site, 110 companies, 2,750 staff on site

A Royal Charter created the University of Surrey (UniS) out of Battersea Polytechnic in 1966. Guildford Borough saw the town's new university as replacing jobs being lost through the decline of local manufacturing – an early shift to a knowledge-based economy.

The Surrey Research Park was a natural extension of the university’s tradition of working closely with the regional industrial base. In 1981 70 acres (28.5 hectares) were set aside for The Surrey Research Park to support the creation and growth of research, development and design-based companies.