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Harwell Campus
Harwell Campus, south of Didcot and about seven miles east of Wantage along the A417, is one of Britain’s leading science sites and one of the biggest employers for people in the Wantage area. Founded in 1946 as a hub for pioneering technology, it now hosts facilities such as the Diamond Light Source, along with particle accelerators, quantum computing work, space-testing chambers and a large community of businesses and start-ups.
By the numbers
- 7,000+ scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and technicians
- 250+ organisations on site
- About 700 acres of campus
- About 93 hectares allocated for new employment development
How it is growing
The eastern part of the campus forms the largest single site in the Science Vale UK Enterprise Zone. Business rates growth from the zone is kept and reinvested locally. Both the Vale Local Plan 2031 and the draft Joint Local Plan 2041 allocate about 93 hectares at Harwell for research and business uses, supported by a campus-wide masterplan. Between 2011 and 2024 the council permitted more than 120,000 m² of new business floorspace on the campus, making it one of the district’s most important sources of new jobs.
Roads and travel
Growth has brought road upgrades. The county council used £1.5 million of City Deal money to put traffic signals on the Thomson Avenue entrance from the A4185 in 2019 and 2020. The Harwell Link Road between the B4493 and A417 has also been completed. The draft Joint Local Plan safeguards a strategic walking and cycling route from Harwell Campus to Wantage via Ardington, and improvements to the A417 between Wantage and Blewbury are being studied.
What it means for Wantage and Grove
Harwell and nearby Milton Park are a major reason for the housing growth around Wantage and Grove, which planners see as homes for the Science Vale workforce. For residents it means skilled jobs within commuting distance, but also more traffic on the A417 and A4185 at peak times. Better bus links and the proposed walking and cycling route are intended to ease that.
How to follow it
Planning applications for the campus are on the Vale of White Horse planning register. Campus news is published on the Harwell Campus website.