THE company hoping to build a science park in Wanborough has given extra guarantees to the borough council about how the site will be occupied and its eco-friendly features.

Wasdell Group wants to develop the area on Inlands Farm in Lower Wanborough and is fighting the borough council's recommendation to refuse the plans.

Chairman Martin Tedham said that having carefully considered the recommendations by officers to members of the planning committee to reject the application, he and colleagues are prepared to sign up to a set of measures that should give the reassurances being sought.

The measures include:

• Guaranteeing that there will be a net biodiversity gain achieved at the science park through a range of enhancements to attract wildlife, add new bodies of water and improve the amount of flora and fauna.

• All the buildings on the park will be constructed to BREEAM Excellent standard (or equivalent standard for larger buildings where some deviation may be necessary). This will be secured by planning condition.

• Restricting occupancy on the phase one building to a Wasdell Group company for a period of 10 years from first occupation. This would be secured via a Section 106 agreement, removes any speculative nature of this aspect of the application, and provides a jobs guarantee.

• Agreeing with the council a set of Science Park entry criteria that any candidate companies wishing to occupy buildings at the park will need to meet. This will ensure that these companies are suitable businesses for the site and will enable Wasdell and their partners Cam-Sci to curate the state of the site.

• Restrict the use of the site to those uses applied for via a Section 106 agreement, in addition to a planning condition. This will act as a “double lock” and provide additional confidence that all activities carried out on the site, including those by Wasdell, are compliant.

• A green travel plan will be further developed and approved for the park as a whole. This will be secured via a Section 106 Agreement in addition to a planning condition.

Mr Tedham said: “My vision is to create a Science Park in Swindon that not only creates a wealth of jobs at all skills levels, but is a long-term green legacy for the town.

"I and my family have built a successful business here over the last decade, and we’re proud of that, but I also want to achieve more.

"Other towns and cities reap the benefits of their 21st century science parks – and so can we.

"This will be an exemplar development that will compete with the likes of Green Park in Reading and the Harwell Campus in The Vale of the White Horse.

“I’m not a developer. I’m not in the business of buying land and then selling it off to the highest bidder. But I do understand that some people might fear exactly that.

"So I am giving Swindon Planning Authority a set of guarantees that I gladly sign up to, should the committee approve my planning application.”