Leading local government think tank Localis has said place-shaping and infrastructure investment should be crucial planks of the Government's attempts to boost the life sciences sector.
The Government announced £160m to support the sector at the launch of an independent review of the life sciences today. The sector is thought to be worth some £64bn to the British economy.
The review will feed into the Government's plans to put its relationship with the life sciences on a new footing as part of its wider Industrial Strategy.
Localis chief executive Liam Booth-Smith said: 'The country is blessed with a world class cluster of life sciences and research, a ‘golden triangle’ located between Oxford, Cambridge and London.
'In spearheading the national industrial strategy as a pioneer sector deal, a sense of place is crucial to maximising the opportunities to grow life sciences.
'Specifically, this means linking up infrastructure to investment in the form of a strategic east-west rail connection across multiple boundaries, as well as ready access to land, rapid planning permission and a highly-skilled labour supply in the aftermath of Brexit.
'If these vital elements of place do not inform the thinking about how the sector deal is delivered, we would be missing an important player on the pitch of national revival.'
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