Reports

Report of the Council on a new temporary facility for the Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus

The Council begs leave to report to the University as follows:

1. In this Report the Council is seeking approval for the submission of a full planning application and for the construction of a new temporary modular building in a location adjacent to the John Van Geest Centre for Brain Repair on the Forvie site at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) to accommodate the Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory (MICL). This Report’s main recommendation replaces a proposal made in a Report in July 2024 for the temporary building to be situated in the East Forvie Car Park.1 The Council has therefore withdrawn the July 2024 Report.

2. The project outlined in this Report (‘Temporary building for the MICL’) will replace the MICL’s current accommodation with temporary accommodation in advance of a longer-term move in the future. The reasons for making this proposal have not changed since publication of the July 2024 Report and are repeated below. As the project remains urgent and consultation suggests both the project in principle and the proposed new location have broad support, this Report seeks approval for both the project and its construction in one stage. Therefore if planning permission is granted, there will be no second Report unless there are significant changes to the project as outlined below.

3. The School of Clinical Medicine has a strategic plan, based on its existing strengths in radiochemistry and positron emission tomography (PET), to create an internationally leading centre for molecular imaging on the CBC. The MICL is a dedicated preclinical facility for researchers from across the University to undertake research in the discovery, development and clinical translation of novel radiotracers for the biomedical technique of PET. It is a key component of the integrated PET imaging infrastructure.

4. The current accommodation for the MICL in the West Forvie Building (WFB) on the Forvie site is extremely unsatisfactory for a number of reasons:

(a)Much of the Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health (MEPH) infrastructure is beyond or approaching the end of its life expectancy and at risk of operational failure and/or regulatory non-compliance with Environment Agency and other statutory quality and safety standards. If the MEPH failed, all experimental procedure, especially radiochemical procedure, would have to stop. This would risk serious disruption to the MICL and its research capabilities. If regulatory compliance failed, certain research activities, which support a number of Departments, may have to cease.

(b)The building is ranked number one across the University’s estate in the prioritisation list for the Decarbonising Heat Programme. As this programme gains momentum, there is likely to be increasing pressure to find a way to address the carbon emissions of the WFB.

(c)Without significant alteration the building will not be able to accommodate new equipment and does not have the capacity for expansion of research programmes. For example, the MICL has identified the need for a new dedicated mini cyclotron, which would enable it to have more regular access to – and a wider range of – radioisotopes, and avoid the need to transfer the radioisotopes batches from the Radiopharmaceutical Unit (RPU) facility that is situated within the basement of the nearby Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre (WBIC) and reaching its operational maximum.

(d)The building does not provide an environment that is conducive to positive staff and student well-being. The WFB once housed biomedical facilities now relocated to the Anne McLaren Building and the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre. The MICL is therefore now the last remaining facility in a building that is otherwise empty in preparation for demolition. The poor working environment is impacting the retention and recruitment of staff to the MICL to support its research programmes.

5. Work started on a project (MICL 2) to provide long‑term alternative accommodation for the MICL and proposals for a new, mixed commercial and academic building on the Forvie site were drawn-up. However, since then, other matters have intervened, forcing a rethink of the project and delays to the development of plans for a longer-term solution. These matters include the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within the West Forvie Building, which necessitated propping, further compromising an already poor working environment.

6. In December 2023, the Estates Committee endorsed the strategy to review the feasibility of temporary accommodation for the MICL before submission of the appropriate business case for a new permanent building.

7. A project to develop a ‘Temporary building for the MICL’ was therefore registered with the Planning and Resources Committee (PRC) in February 2024.

8. In July 2024, a proposal to locate the temporary facility on the East Forvie Car Park site was put forward. A Report was published on 2 July and an Outline Business Case (OBC) was prepared for Estates Committee and PRC review. Remarks were raised at Discussion in which concerns were raised about the suitability of the East Forvie Car Park location. In response to this, a Sub‑committee (including members from each of the buildings on the Forvie site) of the Project Board was established and tasked with undertaking a review of the potential locations for the temporary facility.1

9. An alternative location on the Forvie site, adjacent to the John Van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, was endorsed by the Project Board Sub-Committee and the Project Board in November 2024. The plan below shows the revised location of the proposed temporary building (see p. 400).

10. There are inherent inefficiencies in a strategy that involves double relocation. However, the scope that has been developed will accommodate the MICL in suitable laboratory and write-up space, where the requirements for the facility are based on the minimum viable product for the team to continue to operate over approximately a five‑year period. This temporary solution is intended to provide the University with sufficient time to enable the issues with the longer-term plans to be resolved, for a strategy for the University’s landholdings across the Cambridge Biomedical Campus to be developed, and for providing the MICL with appropriate long-term accommodation.

11. The Project Cost of the new temporary facility in the revised location is estimated to be £7.8m. This initial estimate will be refined during the next phase of design development, which will be undertaken through the procurement of a specialist modular contractor under a pre-construction services agreement.

12. The revised OBC has been endorsed by the Estates Committee and approved by the PRC. The urgent need for a replacement facility for the MICL means that approval from the Regent House is being sought via this single‑stage Report, as noted above, and subject to determination of a Full Business Case later in 2025.

13. The Council recommends:

I.That, subject to Estates Committee and Planning and Resources Committee approval of the Full Business Case for the project, approval be given for the construction of a new temporary facility for the Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory on the Forvie site adjacent to the John Van Geest Centre for Brain Repair.

II.That the Director of Estates be authorised to apply for full planning permission and to construct the facility in due course.

4 March 2025

Site plan: Revised location of the proposed temporary building