Marshall Land Systems to leave Cambridge for Alconbury by 2025

Marshall Land Systems will move from Cambridge to the former RAF base at Alconbury Weald by 2025, the company has confirmed.

It represents another departure from the city for the historic firm, which is due to relocate its aerospace business to Cranfield in Bedfordshire by 2030.

Marshall Land Systems supplies defence, security and humanitarian forces with operational infrastructure such as modular containers, and designs, installs and supports mission systems for land vehicles and base structures, including for explosive ordnance disposal and battlefield ambulances.

Currently based in Newmarket Road, along with Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, it will switch to a 15,000 sq m facility at Alconbury Weald by 2025.

Marshall Land Systems managing director Gary Moynehan said: “In partnership with our Marshall Group Property colleagues we have conducted an extensive search for potential new sites that would enable us to retain the vast majority of our workforce.

“The site at Alconbury meets all of our criteria and given its location and supporting infrastructure we believe it is the ideal home for our growing business.

“We have been hugely successful over recent years in winning new contracts both in the UK and overseas and the move will provide us with much needed extra capacity and the opportunity to reconfigure our operation to drive much greater efficiency.

“The new facility will accommodate all aspects of our operation including research, development, manufacturing and customer support and, importantly, provide us with the opportunity to incorporate the very latest developments in environmental and sustainability into the building.”

Work has begun on a reserved matters planning application for the new facility, which Marshall says will enable it to continue to employ about 450 people when fully operational.

Earlier this month, Marshall Land Systems announced that it had delivered three containerised military CT scanners for Saab Australia for use by the Australian Defence Force.

Marshall secured outline planning permission from Central Bedfordshire Council in April for the relocation of its aerospace business to a purpose-built facility on the Cranfield University campus.

Areas of the Marshall business that are due to remain in Cambridge include its head office, Group Property, Skills Academy, Aerostructures and Futureworx accelerator businesses.

The Cambridge Airport site is expected to become the location for thousands of new homes.