Discover Milton Park’s Role in Innovation
If you’ve ever wondered what a science park is and why they matter — Milton Park in Oxfordshire offers a compelling answer. As one of the UK’s largest single owned science, business and technology communities, Milton Park is a prime example of how science parks fuel innovation, collaboration and sustainable growth.
What is a science park?
A science park is a purpose-built environment designed to support research, development and innovation. They typically host a mix of businesses and research organisations, often with strong links to universities or academic institutions, providing the infrastructure and community needed to take intellectual property and ideas to market.
Science parks offer:
- Flexible workspaces for start ups, scale-ups and global enterprises
- Access to talent from nearby universities, research hubs and clusters of like-minded companies
- Networking opportunities through events, forums and shared facilities and amenities
- Support for R&D through specialised purpose built labs and collaborative spaces
The evolution of science parks
The concept of science parks comes from the ideology of how proximity between academic research and businesses could accelerate and power innovation. The first pioneering developments to use this concept was Stanford Research Park in 1951 and Cambridge Science Park in the 1970s.
Milton Park began as a Ministry of Defence logistics hub during WWI and WWII, known then as Milton Depot. It later became Milton Trading Estate before adopting the name Milton Park in 1985. Innovation has always been at the heart of its identity. In 1988, Milton Park made a pivotal shift to support science and technology spin-outs and start-ups. Since then, it has grown into a thriving innovation community within the area known as Science Vale and within the Golden Triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London.
The decision to create flexible accommodation specifically for innovative companies, offering lease arrangements and scalable facilities, established Milton Park as a destination where businesses, especially life science companies could flourish from early-stage concepts to successful international business operations.
Milton Park: A leading UK science park
Located between Didcot and Abingdon, near Oxford, Milton Park is home to over 270 companies and more than 9,000 people. It’s recognised as one of the largest life science clusters in the UK. It is also a hub for sectors including clean energy, biotech, battery technology, retail and advanced manufacturing.
In 2023, a joint report from Beauhurst found that 7.56% of UK’s total equity investment in life sciences was secured by Milton Park based companies between 2013 and 2023, equating to £953m.
What sets Milton Park apart?
- Single ownership model: This allows companies to scale seamlessly within Milton Park, alongside ten-day simplified planning
- World-class amenities: From co-working, meeting and conference spaces like Bee House to bespoke R&D labs, Milton Park offers everything a business needs to thrive
- Sustainability and innovation: The park is actively investing in green transport and future-focused developments like Nebula and Signal Yard.
Why businesses choose Milton Park?
Whether you’re a startup looking for your first office or lab space or a multinational seeking a flagship HQ, Milton Park provides:
- Strategic location within the Oxford-Cambridge-London Golden Triangle and at the heart of Science Vale. Located close to academia such as Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University
- Excellent transport links by road, rail, and bike. With three fast buses an hour to central Oxford and trains to London Paddington only 45 minutes
- A collaborative community that fosters partnerships across sectors
Why science parks are important?
Data shows that Oxford University contributed £16.9 billion in economic impact nationwide. Approximately 59% (£9.9 billion of this came from the exchange of research and knowledge. (source: The economic impact of the University of Oxford; London Economics, 2025).
Showing how communities like Milton Park play a key role in strengthening the UK’s economy. In addition to this science parks help with:
- Building innovation clusters – Milton Park has a diverse mix of companies across a range of sectors such as biotech, health tech, agritech, technology, AI and quantum, battery technology, fusion energy, retail, publishing and logistics.
- Fostering strategic partnerships – Milton Park’s collaborative approach allows those working across various fields from health sciences to green-tech sectors to discover unexpected synergies and breakthrough innovations.
- Growing businesses – Milton Park’s flexible workspace means that businesses can scale up quickly due to our single ownership and ten-day simplified planning.
Space to grow
Science parks like Milton Park are more than just places to work, they’re ecosystems where innovation flourishes. Through the 2040 Vision, Milton Park aims to strengthen its proposition as leaders in environmental sustainability whilst continuing to support the companies at the Park.
As the UK’s largest single ownership innovation community for science and technology, Milton Park combines world-class facilities with a proven track record across multiple sectors. Milton Park has supported some of Oxford Universities earliest spin outs such as RM and Oxford Asymmetry (which has evolved into Evotec) both of which are still here today.
By offering the right mix of infrastructure, talent and community, Milton Park continues to shape the future of science and technology in the UK.
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