In April the Estates and Infrastructure Committee approved the Estates & Facilities strategic delivery plan which integrates previously agreed strategies for the estate development framework, Project Stay (our residential accommodation strategy), compliance and operations/capital backlog replacement. It draws on consultation with the wider University community through the Estate Development Framework and the University Strategy.
It has been developed alongside other SDPs to facilitate consistency of approach and to identify dependencies. Members of Estates and Infrastructure Committee reviewed a draft in March 2021.
Professor Andy Long, Deputy-Vice-Chancellor and Chair of the Estates and Infrastructure Committee said “The SDP sets out how the University will maintain, enhance and develop our campuses so that they are safe, attractive and efficient to support our students, staff and visitors and everything we do as a University. It relates to the University’s UK assets, land and property encompassing the four main campuses as well as the spaces we occupy in our partner hospital trusts”.
The plan encompasses a wide range of assets such as academic teaching and research buildings; libraries; residential accommodation; theatres; sports centres and playing surfaces; conferencing facilities; hotels; cafes, bars and dining areas, lakes, woodland and farmland.
The plan delivers, specifically, against the strategic goal to Develop the Campus Experience and ‘Contributing to Sustainable Development Goals and supporting the City of Nottingham’s desire to be a net zero carbon city by 2028’ but supports the delivery of many of the other strategic delivery plans.
Linda Goodacre, Director of Estates and Facilities, said “Our mission is to create, evolve and maintain campuses that inspire all that study, live, work and visit to achieve their ambitions.
Our challenge has been to create a genuinely integrated plan. Over the last two years we’ve listened to our students and staff through consultation, drawing on the University Strategy and the estate development framework consultation and worked closely with those with leading on other delivery plans”.
Encouragingly, we’re not doing this from a standing start. Since the publication of the University Strategy in December 2019 the University has put the following in place to ensure it delivers on these commitments:
a) Published its Estate Development Framework (EDF) to deliver against the vision set out in that strategy;
b) A long term investment strategy for its residential accommodation – ‘Project Stay’;
c) A Capital Backlog Replacement Programme (CBRP) to address infrastructure investment needs; and
d) Strengthened its resources with the creation of a Compliance Team within the Estate Office and strengthened its operational services.
The Estates and Facilities Directorate is now:
a) Developing detailed campus plans for each of our 4 campuses (Jubilee, King’s Meadow, Sutton Bonington and University Park);
b) Investing £15m/year in addressing capital backlog maintenance to improve the reliability and efficiency of critical assets across all our campuses;
c) Undertaking a strategic review of all its built assets and property;
d) Developing a Catering Strategy;
e) Supporting the Medium Term Financial Plan position for commercial return on surplus;
f) Improving the student experience within Halls of Residence;
g) Developing a long term carbon management plan to deliver reductions in greenhouse gas emissions Scope 1 (gas) and Scope 2 (electricity) and actively contributing to the reduction of Scope 3 (Supply Chain) emissions.
The plan sets out the interdependencies with other strategic delivery plans and more detail in terms of the key areas of focus and activity. Governance of the plan falls to the University’s Estates and Infrastructure Committee which is responsible for the SDP, overseeing its implementation and its review.