Grand designs for scholarship

Over £260m of public and private cash is going into two campus revamps. The THES reports

MIDDLESEX

Middlesex University will close its smaller campuses and focus on three sites as part of a £100 million building programme, writes Alison Goddard.

Last week, the university submitted an outline planning application for the redevelopment of its main Trent Park campus. It has started work on its Hendon campus and has plans to redevelop the Tottenham campus.

Architects Building Design Partnership have been appointed to design a new learning resource centre at Trent Park. There are also plans to repair the site's historic buildings, enhance the landscape of the country park and remove postwar buildings.

Vice-chancellor Michael Driscoll said: "Trent Park is already our most famous and prestigious campus. We have a unique opportunity to make it a world-class campus, highly effective as a place of learning and one that can bring significant benefits to the area."

The work will be partially financed by selling campuses in White Hart Lane, Ponders End, Wood Green and Bedford. The university has received a funding council grant and is about to sign a contract with Jarvis to outsource its student accommodation.

LANCASTER

On the eve of its 40th birthday Lancaster University has announced a £160 million makeover to bring its rural campus into the 21st century, writes Alison Utley.

Vice-chancellor Paul Wellings said the university was embarking on a major programme of demolition and redevelopment work, expanding the capacity of the 1960s campus by 50 per cent.

Professor Wellings said: "The campus will look very different. We are reinventing ourselves as part of a wider strategy to position Lancaster as a top ten research university." He said Lancaster, a relatively small institution with 11,000 students, would support student expansion and strengthen links with the local economy.

Funding will come, in part, as a result of a £120 million accommodation deal with Jarvis.

Lancaster will also reorganise its research infrastructure. This includes a new £20 million environment centre, with nearly 300 researchers and teachers.

Further plans include building a £15 million centre of excellence in information and communication technology with backing from the Northwest Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund.