University of Cumbria shelves plan to build £70 million campus in Carlisle
Last updated at 16:28, Friday, 13 November 2009
Plans to build a £70 million flagship campus and headquarters for the University of Cumbria have been put on hold because of the recession.
Vice-chancellor Professor Peter McCaffery says original targets for growth cannot be met.
He says the implications are that the university is not likely to be in a position to open its new campus and headquarters by the River Caldew in Carlisle by 2013 and student numbers by 2016 may only reach just over half the original estimate.
It was originally hoped that there would be almost 15,500 full-time students by 2016/17. Revised predictions show that the figure may only reach 8,300.
The university, like others across the country, has been hit badly by the economic situation and public spending cuts. Funding expected from the Learning and Skills Council has also been lost.
A national cap on student numbers caused by a £200m shortfall in the Government’s higher education finances also restricts levels of growth.
The University of Cumbria can expect to receive lower than predicted annual grants to operate when funding is linked directly to student numbers.
Therefore, directors of Cumbria’s university are being forced to rethink their original plans. They will discuss a raft of proposed measures when they meet later this month.
Shorter-term projects that will benefit the university and the local economy and community – such as £14m proposals to transform the Sands Centre in Carlisle and being part of Furness College’s revamp in Barrow – could be seen as more favourable options to ensure development and growth moves forward.
Professor McCaffery said: “The university’s development is a long-term project. It is now more than a year since the original plan was considered and approved and in that time the context and environment in which the university operates has changed significantly.
“We remain committed to our original vision and aspirations but in the short term the original development assumptions and detail in the business plan can’t be realised and the level of expansion within the original timescale anticipated is unfortunately unrealistic.”
He added: “What we will do is continue to work with our partners to implement key projects in the short to medium term.”
First published at 14:22, Friday, 13 November 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk
Thanks Anon. However, I have mocked only the lack of facilities and some of the hair-brained schemes, i.e. bidding to be the city of culture. not the fact that we need such facilities.
The people bringing culture and arts to the top of agenda are those doing it, not those who bang the drum. Give the people some credit!I may mock those running those fiascos but not the idea they are trying to get across, its the manner in which they do it. I admire 'Love Carlisle' for instance, I see you give them no credit though.I do wish you would admit what part you play in all of us rather than hiding behind 'anon' though - perhaps I should call you Bryan!. At least we seem to have the same target, we just see the path in getting there taking different directions.View all 18 comments on this article
Doctor to diva 
Soldier funeral
Bombs Per Minute 
Crucifixion 
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Its all very well planning to open a new campus in Carlisle, but shouldn't the university concentrate its efforts on the campus's it already has? they shouldn't shut Ambleside down and as a campus we will campaign to keep it open, to protect 175 years of heritage from being thrown down the drain for the sake of money!
Posted by A University of Cumbria Student on 1 December 2009 at 21:34