Tony Blair visits campus as controversy grows over the Heslington East expansion

by Toby Green | May 4th, 2006

A leading charity designed to protect countryside areas has waded into the argument surrounding the University’s plans for expansion; an issue which has recently seen the involvement of Tony Blair and John Prescott.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England has joined Heslington residents in opposition to the controversial proposals for the development of Heslington East at the public inquiry that opened last week.

Tony Blair made a visit to campus last month in a move seen by many as an endorsement of the University’s plans, despite the fact that the Chancellor, Greg Dyke, once said “our democratic system is in crisis as a result of [Blair’s] style of government.”

The Prime Minister was on campus to open a new Science Learning Centre costing £25 million which he praised for showing “a great vision of how science can be taught.”

At the public inquiry into Heslington East at the Guildhall in York, which was given the go ahead by John Prescott, Dr Guy Woolley, district chairman for the York division of the CPRE said “We agree this University should expand because of the socio-economic benefits it would bring to the city, but we submit that the evidence strongly suggests there is scope with expanding the current campus.”

However Frances Patterson, speaking for the University, has promised residents that the plans would not constitute “urban sprawl” and that “the University has been sensitive to its local community, and devised a scheme for its expansion which is sustainable.

“There are some negative impacts [but] wherever possible those impacts have been minimalised. The result is a proposal which will protect a national asset.”

Vice-Chancellor Brian Cantor also promised that once the Heslington East campus had been built, the rate of expansion would be halted, and said that the University’s aim was to “promote excellence”

The University, which is the sixth smallest in England, has maintained that extra capacity is required if York is to build on its reputation.

Patterson revealed that supply of places is not meeting demand, with nine applications received for every place, and that the new 65-hectare campus will mean that “the ability to attract more applicants can be met.