Permission Granted for Cirencester Innovation Village
Cotswold District Council's Planning and Licensing Committee has granted outline planning permission for a 12-hectare Innovation Village at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester.
The mixed-use scheme sits on university-owned land off Stroud Road, next to the RAU campus. With all matters reserved except access, it allows for up to 24,012 sq m of floorspace for offices, research and development, education, conferencing and cafe use. Plans include converting the university's Trent Lodge into a cafe, together with parking, access and highway works, landscaping, public realm and utilities.
Focused on agriculture, food and land management, the site is intended to become a centre for research, collaboration and practical solutions for the land-based sector. The university describes it as the first Innovation Village of its kind for the industry in the UK. The RAU already contributes over £50 million a year to the Gloucestershire economy, and the new village is expected to add a further £50 million annually once complete.
Vice-chancellor Professor Peter McCaffery said the approval was a major milestone following the university's 180th anniversary. He said researchers would work with industry, food producers, farmers and landowners on sustainable food production and biodiversity recovery, and that the scheme would offer skills training and jobs to encourage 16 to 24-year-olds to stay in the county.
Tristan Wilkinson, the district council's cabinet member for economy, said the project could attract high-value, low-carbon businesses and skilled jobs, broadening the Cotswolds economy beyond tourism. Julian Tooke of Gloucestershire County Council described it as a vote of confidence in the county as a centre for agricultural, food and land management innovation, and a boost for young people and the rural economy.
