Work on campus

Work is to begin soon on a £35m university campus, will be situated on the banks of the River Usk in Newport city centre, and will be the first phase of an intended £50m development for University of Wales, Newport, with partnership funding from Newport City Council and Newport Unlimited.

The new campus will house Newport Business School and part of Newport School of Art, Media and Design.
Newport’s Business School recently came top in the UK for its level of student satisfaction and the Newport School of Art, Media and Design enjoys an international reputation for its innovative courses and research.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Bob Bright, said: “We are continually working to attract new investment into the city and we are pleased to hear that work on this exciting development is due to begin.

“The city centre campus symbolises our ambition to ensure that Newport remains a fast-moving, dynamic, enterprising city, with excellent opportunities for people and business.

“I am sure that this development will be a huge success for the university, its students and the city of Newport itself.”
It is hoped that the campus will help transform the city centre by becoming a magnet for cultural activity along the riverfront and a centre for enterprise that embraces a contemporary arts centre, extensive exhibition space and a national photographic archive.

Contractors HGB will be moving onto the site on the banks of the River Usk in Newport to conduct initial site clearing work soon.

“The university’s new city centre campus will feature an innovative Hothouse at its core where artists, business researchers and entrepreneurs will work together and spark off each other to create new commercial ideas to help drive entrepreneurship and creativity in the regeneration of the city,” said Chris O’Malley, pro vice-chancellor (regional and international development).

“We are moving towards the development of an entrepreneurial university and the idea of working closely with business and the creative industries is a fundamental concept of the new city centre campus,” he added.

Commenting on the striking hi-tech design of the proposed new campus building, designed by architects BDP, Anne Carlisle, pro vice-chancellor (academic), said: “The Hothouse will stand out in the building’s profile as a distinctive zone, suspended from the ceiling and connected by walkways. It will capitalise on the university’s greatest asset – its people and ideas.

“The building will be physically transparent and open to the city, rather than being enclosed behind high walls.

“Not only will it be possible to see right through the building, but visitors to Newport will be encouraged to come in and see a wealth of artistic and creative exhibitions that will be constantly on display.

“The new campus will help to make clear to visitors to our city that Newport is home to a university with an international reputation,” added Professor Carlisle.

Research by Universities UK shows that universities have a major impact on their surroundings. For every 100 university jobs, a further 89 are created by ‘knock on’ effects, and higher education creates about £4bn in foreign earnings annually for the UK.

The chief executive of Newport Unlimited, John Burrows, stated: “The new city centre campus will transform the look and feel of Newport’s city centre.

“It is one of the key projects in transforming the centre of Newport and of regenerating the whole city.

“The city centre campus will contribute an enormous amount to making Newport a real city with the buzz and diversity of activity that the students and staff will bring to the city environment.”

The current Allt-yr-yn Campus will be sold to part-fund the new development in the city centre, while the other campus at Caerleon will remain.

The new campus, which will be completed in 2010 to coincide with the Ryder Cup coming to Newport, will add vibrancy to the city centre and give a boost to the local economy.