Richard Henry, leader of Stevenage Borough Council, has said he is "dismayed" that GSK are set to close their site near the A1(M) as part of a move to Cambridge.

Pharmaceutical giant GSK announced earlier yesterday (Tuesday, July 28) that its site in Stevenage will close in 2029, with a new research and development facility created at Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Around 2,000 staff work for GSK at their Stevenage facility and, according to The Times, job losses are expected as part of the "phased" move to Cambridge.

The company has said that its new Cambridge site will employ "more than 1,000 GSK scientists", and that some employees will also move to their existing laboratories in Ware, which will be upgraded.

Cllr Henry said he is "deeply frustrated" by GSK's "sudden" decision to leave Stevenage, and added: "My thoughts are with the local people affected by this decision – the employees and their families, whose hard work has been responsible for GSK's success."

GSK have had a site in Stevenage since 1995, and announced plans to expand their presence in the town in 2021.

But now the company has said it hopes "most of its staff will move with them" to their new site "in the heart of the UK's life sciences Golden Triangle".

In recent years, Stevenage Borough Council has marketed the town as having a "world-leading science park", with GSK joined by sites such as the Stevenage Advanced Therapeutics Campus and the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Manufacturing Centre.

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The council has encouraged investment in Stevenage from STEM businesses, and expected there to be 8,000 new bioscience and life sciences jobs in the town by 2040.

Cllr Henry said the town has "a strong track record of attracting investment" and added that the council will work "urgently" with the government and local partners to "secure the future of the site and the opportunities it can deliver for our community".

Stevenage's MP, Kevin Bonavia, said he will "join the council and other Stevenage partners in banging the drum for major new investment" at GSK's site.

The MP said he is "disappointed" by the decision to close the site and added that he is "deeply frustrated by the lack of meaningful engagement from GSK before these [relocation] plans were announced, which has caused unnecessary uncertainty for employees and the wider community".

Mr Bonavia said GSK staff and their families "must be properly supported throughout this process," and added that he would use his position as MP to bring together Stevenage's wider research and tech industries to "get the reassurances they need".