Colworth House
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Colworth House is an 18th century mansion set in an area of parkland on the edge of the village of Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire. The current house was first built on a site previously occupied possibly since prehistoric times (there is evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area) starting 1715 by one Mark Antonie, a "self made man" who had aspired to become part of the landed gentry.
The house and grounds, once the home of Henry Mond, were acquired by Unilever in November 1947 and restored and developed into a research laboratory in 1948, with the first staff moving in in 1950.
Unilever uses Colworth House as a research and development site, employing around 3,000 people at its peak in the 1970s.
In 2004 Unilever entered into a joint venture with property investment company Arlington Securities to manage Colworth Science Park, with the aim of turning it into a science cluster by attracting science businesses, academic outposts, and science-based entrepreneurs. Arlington was subsequently acquired by Goodman, a property group known for long-term ownership, development and management of commercial and industrial property. Colworth Science Park remains the location of one of Unilever's research centres and currently employs around 700 people, including the employees of a handful of very small companies located on the site.
[edit] External links
[edit] Bibliography
Michael Jones, Colworth in Context, Bedford, 1997
[edit] Additional material
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In 2007 Colworth Science Park applied for planning permission to build four new buildings on site - a Knowledge Hub (1943 square metres), two Innovation centres (3256 square metres) plus a fourth building (1506 square metres). It also applied to demolish a 1970s concrete building immediately adjacent to the original Colworth House, reducing the net of the development, and returning Colworth House to its undiminished 18th Century aspect. [1] There was support for this step from heritage organisations.
During the public consultation, Bedfordshire County Council's Highways Department stated that 'if this current proposal were to be granted further development which increases traffic on this site should not be considered without major traffic infrastructure taking place'. This statement implicitly acknowledged there was no need for 'traffic infrastructure' for the present application.
After opposition by Sharnbrook Parish Council, the application (07/02211/MAO) was rejected on the 26 November 2007 by a majority of Bedford Borough Council's Planning Committee, with the Council casting doubt on the traffic figures provided by independent experts. [2]
Forecasts made for the planning application suggested the development would result in 32 additional vehicle movements during the morning rush hour on Sharnbrook High Street, which is the equivalent of one vehicle every two minutes. [3]
An article in the Bedford Times & Citizen on 29 November 2007 quoted Roger Gray, Sharnbrook parish councillor who told the planning committee that 'the development was the first phase of a much larger masterplan by Goodman to build 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m²) of office space on the site, and that the company's travel plan was unsustainable.
He said: "The travel plan says there will be 150 new jobs, but only 32 car movements, which I think is a plain lie."
From the same article 'However, Coun Nicky Attenborough (Con Kempston) led the way in calling for the rejection of the application, and the building of an A6 link road to the site to relieve Sharnbrook of traffic.
She said: "I do not believe the county council has got it right and I believe in a future for Sharnbrook.
"That road has got to come and it is as simple as that. The village needs it to survive."
Sharnbrook Parish Council said it will happily sit down with Goodman to discuss future plans for Colworth House if the company agrees to build an A6 link road. [4]
An article in the Bedford Times and Citizen on 21 February 2008 quoted Anita Gerard, chairman of Bedford Borough Council's planning committee, warning councillors in November 2007 that 'they could not hold Colworth Science Park responsible for the traffic situation in Sharnbrook and that they had no technical information to support the refusal.'
In February 2008, Colworth Science Park appealed against the refusal by Bedford Borough Council, on the grounds that the technical advice from the Council's own Planning Officer the highways authority supported the application. At the same time, the Science Park submitted a new application for three buildings, in an attempt to meet local concerns and avoid any delays to the plans to attract jobs to the area. The new application is forecast to result in only 24 additional vehicle movements on Sharnbrook High Street during the morning rush hour. "[Reference required]"
A central feature of both the original and the latest planning applications is that Colworth Science Park will instigate a site-wide green travel plan, leading to a net reduction of traffic using Sharnbrook High Street. "[Reference required]"
