£500m campus expansion gets government approval
Raf Sanchez and Nicky Woolf investigate the implications for students, locals and the environment of the plans for the £500 million Heslington East development
Following permission from the government for the Heslington East expansion, the full scale of the projected environmental impact of the development has been revealed in documents obtained by Nouse. Use of Green Belt land was approved by Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on the basis that it is the only viable site, though local campaigners have refuted this assertion.
The ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’, part of the University’s planning application, lists 23 different negative environmental impacts that it classes as both “long-term” and “irreversible”. A further 11 “short term” impacts are also identified. Kate Evans, Chair of York People and Planet, described the findings of the assessment as “of grave concern”.
Among the most serious of the listed effects are “emissions of pollutants to land, air and water” and “irreversible impact to landscape”. Each listed impact is accompanied by a number of “mitigation measures”, designed to limit its adverse effects. After taking these measures into account, the document gives a final assessment of each impact, classing it as either ‘major’, ‘moderate’, ‘minor’ or ‘no significant impact’. In the report, the University declines to classify any of the 23 long-term irreversible effects as ‘major’.
Peter Sanderson, a former Green party council candidate and long-time opponent of Heslington East, said he wasn’t surprised by the University’s classifications. “Whenever a developer puts forward a proposal they are always going to highlight the positives,” he said. “Of course there are major environmental effects.”
The use of Green Belt land is one of the most controversial elements of the Heslington East project. According to government guidelines, the use of Green Belt land for university expansion constitutes an “inappropriate” usage except in “very special circumstances”.
In 2005 Nouse obtained a secret University report revealing major weaknesses in the justifications for use of Green Belt land. The report showed the University’s assessment that students would choose to live on campus for all three years of their degree, and therefore not flood the local accommodation market, to be based on faulty research. The report also revealed the business-oriented nature of the expansion, which contravenes government guidelines that Green Belt land should not be used for commercial purposes. The report was added to a dossier Nouse compiled on Heslington East which was presented to John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, and three other senior government ministers.
The University claims that its proposal to expand on Green Belt land is justified. In a document entitled ‘Review of Alternative Sites’ the University dismisses a number of locations, including York Central, an urban site north of the railway station.
In the DCLG report justifying the decision to allow the expansion, the government concurred with the University’s assessment that there was an “absence of alternative sites” and therefore that construction of the new campus on Green Belt land was justified as a special circumstance.
The assertion is fiercely denied by local campaigners. Sanderson accused the University and government of colluding to rule out alternative sites, saying “if the Government Inspector wants to allow the development, he needs to dismiss all other options as unrealistic. Given the vested interests, this is what happened. It was much more about politics than practicalities.”
Heslington East: the expansion in brief
Student Venue
A single central venue will provide one large (1,000 capacity) and two small (250 capacity) event halls in a single central building. The venue will be close to the lake and able to accommodate live music, and will mean that large student events such as FRESH and the Summer Ball can be held on the campus.
Colleges
There will be four new colleges, the names of which are yet to be determined. These will accommodate a total of 2,400 students in Alcuin-style en-suite rooms. Each college will have a bar, common rooms, a games room and study rooms. It is expected that interim JCRCs will be elected in the colleges’ first year.
Lake
The new campus will feature a large lake, with the potential for water sports, particularly rowing, included in design considerations. The lake will act as a wetland habitat for wildlife, as well as forming an aesthetically attractive border for the south side of the new campus. It will be surrounded by parkland.
Academic
Heslington East will be the home of six academic departments including the new Departments of Film, Theatre and Television, the Law School and the Dentistry School, linked to the Hull York Medical School. The extension of academic facilities will add a further 5,500 students, bringing the University’s population to 15,400.
Commercial
Three main public spaces are planned, with the western-most area designed for ‘high street’ uses, including food and retail outlets and banking facilities. A stand-alone conference centre will provide space for commercial bookings and will include 100 luxury bedrooms, dining and bar facilities, business centre and a health spa.
Catering
The new campus will be catered for by two 550 seat Roger Kirk Centre-style cafeteria restaurants. A number of smaller café outlets are also planned, either as stand-alone facilities or to be incorporated into other developments such as departments or colleges. All new colleges will also have full self-catering facilities.
Sports
An advanced sports facility is planned including an 8-lane swimming pool, 100 station fitness suite, a dance and martial arts studio, climbing wall and a three court indoor tennis hall. Football, rugby and cricket fields are planned on the eastern end of the development, adjacent to an athletics stadium with viewing stands.
Transport
An internal transit bus system will run frequent loops linking the East and West campuses. This means that any area of the University will still be reachable from any other within ten minutes. The bus route will mean that Goodricke bridge will have to be rebuilt to allow the bus to cross over on its way towards Halifax.
