£200m university site opens doors

YORK University students will benefit from of the biggest developments in higher education in the last decade this week, when they move into academic buildings built as phase one of a 750m campus expansion.

The 200m first stage of the development at Heslington East, opening today, includes new accommodation for the departments of computer science and theatre, film and TV along with the York law and management schools.

The 65-hectare Heslington East expansion will signal a major increase in capability at York, already one of Britain's leading research institutions, contributing hugely to the public good in medicine, social policy, the environment and the arts.

The campus extension will eventually boost total student numbers by 50 per cent to around 16,000 as well as creating up to 2,000 new jobs.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Brian Cantor said: “Heslington East will increase our capacity to build new and exciting partnerships between our world-class research base and business for the good of the economy.

“The campus expansion will enhance the student experience, and contribute socially and culturally to the community.

“We are already one of York's largest employers, supporting around 6,000 jobs in the region and contributing more than 160 m per year to the local economy.

“The campus expansion is helping to generate significant new employment at a difficult time for the economy both locally and nationally.”

The new layout will see businesses – mainly creative and technological industries – working alongside the academics - a mix designed to link business to on campus research centre and improve knowledge sharing.

The expansion also features two flagship buildings, the Ron Cooke Hub and the Catalyst, to grow new businesses using incubator units and cutting edge research centres to combine the innovation and expertise of thinkers and entrepreneurs.

Paying tribute to all the hard work that made it possible, both on and off campus, Prof Cantor underlined that the expansion was based on the core principles that had guided the University's success in its first 47 years.

“These superb new buildings, and those that will follow, will enhance our wonderful campus for the benefit of students, staff and the wider community," he added.

The grounds include green space, a lake, new woodland and extensive areas of wetland, designed to increase the biodiversity of the area, plus recreational and cultural facilities for use by the wider community.

The extended campus is virtually car-free with a range of measures in place to reduce traffic movements around the campus as part of a partnership with York Council to cut congestion in the area.

The new academic buildings come into use a year after students moved into Goodricke College, a 580-room student accommodation site, at Heslington East.

Plans for the second phase will include a at least one new college providing student accommodation, further academic buildings and a sports village featuring a swimming pool available for community use, fitness suite and all-weather sports pitches.

York Council chief executive Kersten England said: “The university is rightly regarded as one of the best in the world and the new campus developments will ensure it can further develop its reputation for excellence, making York the innovation capital of the North.”

The chief executive of Science City York, Prof Nicola Spence said yesterday: “At the very heart of the new campus, The Catalyst and Ron Cooke Hub buildings provide some of the most exciting space in the UK for new businesses to establish and grow.”