Frequently asked Questions
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• Timeline
• Objectives
• Development Philospohy
• Economic Benefits
• Partners in commercial success
   
Timeline
 

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 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
   
 

A Royal Charter created the University of Surrey (UniS) out of Battersea Polytechnic in 1966. Guildford Borough saw the townÕs 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.

   
Objectives
  • To provide independent income for UniS. The Park is the University’s largest single asset. It was recently valued at over £75m. The annual income from the Park exceeds £6m.
  • To raise the profile of UniS as a major British Technological University. The Park is known as a major centre of excellence for the formation and growth of technology based new firms. Several international visitors come each week to learn from this success.
  • To aid technology transfer and commercialisation of technology through high valued-added companies. To support this the University has created The Surrey Technology Centre, which is a 64,000 sq. ft. (5,950 sq. m) incubator, to help nurture the growth of a wide range of companies.
  • To provide competitive advantage by access to the University’s intellectual infrastructure. Close relationships have led to many consultancy and collaborative research projects and in some instances the formation of "spin-out" companies.
  • To assist in the economic development of the region. The Park has matured into one of the UK’s most successful science or research parks.
   
Development Philosophy
  IThe aim was to accommodate the growth of companies. So the Research Park was divided into 3 zones, for:
  • Small start up and spin out companies and small specialists parts of large companies in units from 25 to 300 sq. meters.
  • Medium-sized companies either single site enterprises or larger research facilities of multi-site companies
  • Large headquarters and research facilities of high technology based companies.
   
Economic Benefits
 

Trading locally
Some £27.5m worth of work on building the Park went to local businesses.

Employment
About 2,750 people work on the Park, including 1,150 new jobs. A conservative estimate suggests that for every two jobs here, another is created among local suppliers

Spending power
Guildford and other Surrey residents filled more than half these new vacancies. Their average salary is £37,000, significantly above the norm. This puts some £102m a year into local pockets.

Wealth creation
Tenant companies generated £300m – £350m worth of economic activity last year. An average annual turnover per head of over £85,000 indicates high added value.

Inward investment
Nearly half the tenants are inward investors. Nine out of 10 came from overseas, mainly from the USA, but also Canada, India, Japan, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Half the 20 companies that have left since 1992 stayed in Surrey, retaining the jobs and economic benefits.

   
Partners in commercial success
  IThe Surrey Technology Centre helps young technology-based businesses find their feet in a commercial environment. The Park supports them in recruiting the best talent and access the UniversityÕs excellent resources, both human and material. The Park’s "high-tech village culture" helps them to meet, share experiences, help and learn from each other.
  The Park houses significant sector clusters, such as information communications technology, mobile communication technology companies, software, including computer games and synthetic environments, biomedicine and biotechnology. It has created the scope for significant transfers of technology between the University and industry and between industrial companies. For example
  • Co-operation between BOC Gases and the University’s Chemical and Process Engineering activities led to innovative freezing techniques for the food processing industry.
  • A Canon subsidiary developed new products with technical help from several University groups, ranging from Material Science and Engineering to Music.
  • Kobe Steel Europe developed a safer train seat.
  • Genetic engineers, AGROL used superbugs to turn agricultural waste into ethanol.
  • Signal Computing developed global positioning and vehicle tracking systems.
  • Idetica (formerly Smith System Engineering) has worked on highly advanced mobile communications systems, oceanographic and marine data management and protecting light aircraft from mid-air collisions
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