In 2013 Terence O’Rourke obtained detailed planning permission for the construction of a new academic building (5G Innovation Centre) at the University of Surrey’s Stag Hill campus in Guildford, to provide the UK’s only large-scale testbed for prototyping technological solutions, and to help define the global approach to 5G as it moves towards standardisation.
The site was formerly in recreational use but was identified in the University’s Estate Strategy 2009-19 as a future development area, as the focus of the University’s sport and leisure activity had moved to the Surrey Sports Park and playing pitches on the Manor Park campus.
After Terence O’Rourke obtained consent for some minor amendments to the approved scheme, the facility was opened in September 2015.
Housing over 170 researchers, and attracting over £70 million of investment, it is the world’s largest academic research centre dedicated to next generation mobile and wireless connectivity. It has established strong relationships with a number of key global, national and regional communications companies, including EE, Huawei, Telefonica, Vodafone, BT, BBC, Ordnance Survey, Samsung and Fujitsu.
