Future Cities Forum at Oxford Science Park this April

Image: Oxford Science Park development - part of The Daubeny Project designed by Scott Brownrigg

Future Cities Forum is delighted that it will be holding its next Oxford 'Science Cities' forum at the Oxford Science Park, in April.

The forum will look at the way lab spaces on science campuses are changing in design, how Oxford can grow its economy through innovation and new investment in rail infrastructure is helping to better connect the city.

ARC has launched Motherlabs Oxford, a new life sciences accelerator space at its ARC Oxford Campus, designed to support the next generation of spinouts and early-stage companies emerging from the city’s world-leading research base.

Oxford’s spin-out ecosystem has expanded rapidly over the past decade.

An analysis by Onward* found that the number of companies formed from Oxford University research has increased by 166%, alongside a 687% rise in capital raised underlining growing demand for specialist space that can support companies at the earliest stages of growth.

Opening in June 2026, Motherlabs Oxford will provide CL2 laboratories, ranging from 800 to 1,200 SQF, fully fitted and ready to move into, with dedicated write-up space and access to critical shared infrastructure.

Following ARC’s industry first research on neuroinclusive lab design, Motherlabs Oxford has been designed to incorporate neuroinclusive features to ensure the lab environment nurtures creativity, collaboration and scientific problem-solving, supporting Oxford based founders as they move from research to commercial impact.

Companies will also benefit from shared facilities and specialist lab support services, including equipment sterilisation and clinical waste management, reducing operational overheads and allowing teams to focus on advancing their science.

Sebastian Johnson, Director of Ecosystems at ARC, said: “Oxford has an extraordinary track record of turning research into impact, but access to the right space at the right time remains critical. By launching Motherlabs Oxford, we’re giving early-stage companies the infrastructure they need to stay in the city, grow with confidence, and focus on translating breakthrough science.”

Motherlabs Oxford will be based at ARC Oxford, which is already home to a thriving and diverse ecosystem of over 30 science and innovation-based organisations including OMass Therapeutics, FluoRok, Perspectum and Ivy Farm.

The announcement was made at Founders & Funders, a registered foundation supporting translational research and fostering science entrepreneurship through a highly curated community of founders and investors.

The launch of Motherlabs Oxford follows the success of Motherlabs at ARC’s West London Campus, which has seen the space double in size since opening, with Motherlabs members including Sania Therapeutics, Kesmalea Therapeutics and Epsilogen, underlining strong demand for high-quality, move-in-ready laboratory space for early-stage life sciences businesses.

ARC Oxford is part of ARC’s network of clusters, including Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, ARC West London and ARC Uxbridge. Together these locations offer ARC and Motherlabs members unrivalled access to collaboration opportunities benefiting from close proximity to world-class research hospitals, and the nationally significant research facilities based at Harwell.

ARC’s campuses were also recently accredited with the Workspace of the Year title at the Hustle Awards, recognising ARC’s strong focus on inclusivity and its commitment to reimagining how science and real estate intersect fostering collaboration and growth while prioritising accessibility and its member organisation’s needs.

Back in July this year, organisations from across Oxfordshire had welcomed the UK government's recently published Modern Industrial Strategy and Oxfordshire County Council saw this as a huge vote of confidence in the county as well as continued recognition of its potential to lead the national growth agenda.

Cllr Liz Leffman was asked at Future Cities Forum's recent discussion event at Jesus College, Oxford, about building inclusive growth for everyone in society:

'My CEO and myself were clear that the Oxford Growth Commission should be the Oxfordshire Growth Commission because we need growth across the whole county, not just the city, with access to well-paid jobs. The Cowley Branch Line is a great step forward, but we need more county-wide infrastructure if we are to create these communities with access to good jobs. We have some fantastic business parks in the county including Harwell and Culham but also in places like Bicester, Kidlington, Banbury and Witney. They must be brought together.

'One of the issues is that we do not look at this area - Oxfordshire and Oxford - as a single eco-system. One of the university vice-chancellors said to me recently that if you get a job in Boston USA on the other side of the city from where you live, you will be able to travel across the city to get to it from where you live and you don't have to move house. That is not the case here since if you have a job in an Abingdon you are unlikely to be able to travel from Bicester or even Begbroke, north of Oxford. We need to think about the ecosystem in a county-wide way.

'We have recently published our 2040 rail strategy and we know we won't be getting lots of money from central government so we have been considering options with other partners - such as Oxford University on how we fund a station at Begbroke (where the University is progressing a science and housing project) bringing money forward from land value capture, and potentially to pay for a new railway line linking Carterton via Witney to Oxford. That would be a building block but we cannot do it if we are separate authorities.'

Oxford city council commented in October last year on the recent £120m investment in the Cowley Branch Line which will

create two new stations at Oxford Cowley and Oxford Littlemore in south-east Oxford.

'The reopening of the line will connect communities in Littlemore, Cowley, Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys to central Oxford, in under 10 minutes, and then directly onto London Marylebone. It will also connect four of Oxford’s growth areas along one route from ARC Oxford (formally the Oxford Business Park), The Oxford Science Park & the Ellison Institute of Technology, ;Oxford West End (next to Oxford Station), and Oxford North (near Oxford Parkway).

'Ellison Institute of Technology has also unveiled it plans to invest £10bn over the next ten years on talent and science programmes, in addition to the 2m sq ft campus in Littlemore. The Cowley Branch Line project has been a key factor in unlocking this nationally significant Foreign Direct Investment.

'The project to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passengers has been a longstanding priority for the city and county councils, and today’s announcement is the result of many years of work and commitment from local partners.

'The councils, along with ARC Oxford, The Oxford Science Park, and the Ellison Institute of Technology, have worked together to fund a £4.7m business and investment case, which was submitted to the Department for Transport earlier this year by Network Rail.'

Image: Ellison Institute of Technology, Oxford, courtesy of Foster and Partners

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