The Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park at Berkeley Green has been put on the market, with South Gloucestershire and Stroud College accepting expressions of interest until the end of October 2023.
The 45-acre flagship campus that sits on the banks of the River Severn first opened in 2016, after the South Gloucestershire and Stroud College Group (SGS) bought the Berkeley site for £3 million from the government's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Kevin Hamblin, chief executive of SGS, said: 'Berkeley Green is a strategic asset to Gloucestershire, but as a college we cannot do anything novel or anything that requires us to borrow money.
'We know that the site needs money put into it for development, so the only option we have is to sell the lease to the land.
GFirst LEP helped to finance the park’s early development with an investment of £7 million; while in August 2023, the Park Hub was officially opened at the site, offering a collaborative and dynamic events and meeting space aimed at organisations in the science and technology industries.
It has also been revealed that the decision to put the park on the market came after it was recently visited by representatives from the government’s Great British Nuclear organisation.
The park is currently home to the SGS University Technical College, which delivers engineering, digital and cyber education for students aged 14 to 18 years, but this won't be part of the sale.
It is also believed that the Great British Nuclear organisation may be considering the Berkeley Green park as a possible site for a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR).
Hamblin said: 'I believe the value of our site is in the possible siting of the SMRs and the industries associated with that development.
'I am really excited by the prospect of the SMRs coming to Gloucestershire — it would be great for the economy of our county and local jobs.'
