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Brill Place |
‘Hundreds of jobs’ pledge as work begins on £500m superlab project
AS excavators began work on the site of Europe’s largest research laboratory, the woman directing the £500million scheme promised jobs and education benefits to its Somers Town neighbours – but ruled out the social housing that activists and the council have demanded.
Contractors began “exploratory works” at Brill Place, directly behind the British Library, last week.
While the work of the consortium behind the centre in combating cancer and infectious diseases is generally recognised to be world class, the siting of the centre in the heart of Somers Town, next to King’s Cross St Pancras railway station, has caused concern since it was announced in December 2007.
Fay Gillot, programme director of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) destined for Brill Place, sought to allay fears over security.
“We’re not going to build brick walls around it; we want it to remain open,” she said. “There have to be security barriers but we don’t want them to be too heavy. It will have the feeling that this is a place you can enter.”
Ms Gillot has been given the job of driving the centre from the drawing board onto the 3.6-acre Brill Place site.
Stadium architects HOK were appointed last year but the plans are still in flux, according to Ms Gillot, who said the likeliest design would be around five storeys tall.
While there will be animal research at the lab, research on primates has been ruled out.
The Brill Place site was earmarked by Camden Council for housing and office spaces, and the lab plans.
Ms Gillot said the consortium of the Wellcome Trust, Cander Research UK, UCL, and the Medical Research Council was still in talks with the council but pledged employment and educational gains.
“It should generate jobs,” she added. “First you have got the construction, then there are going to be 1,500 scientists there, and they will require catering and maintenance which will require 300-400 people. And around the area you generate an economy.”
Plans for the future of Brill Place have yet to be received by the council. |
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