Investment at Bedford campus

A £25m student enhancement redevelopment project at the Bedford campus is now well underway.

New for 2015: Teaching and Learning Building at our Bedford campus. Find out more: http://t.co/ZPwstBATbC https://t.co/6nzUG27ky8

— uniofbeds (@uniofbeds) 3 October 2014

Sports Hall

In November 2013 the University completed a £4m refurbishment and extension project at the sports hall.

The sports hall extension together with the new playing surface enables The Arena to host sports and games at national championship level.

Additional works have included refurbishment of the adjacent changing rooms to cater for home and away teams, the inclusion of a referees room, first aid room and a welcoming reception area; all of this with improved heating and lighting throughout the complex so all sports participants can take part in comfort.

The 300 seat capacity the sports hall hosts all Bedfordshire Bulls sports matches, including basketball, netball, dodgeball and lacrosse, up to five days per week during term time.

The facility also plays host to a number of University promoted Get into Sport activities which are open to all University students and staff.

The sports hall can now host national standard sporting events including British University College Sports championships – one of the few indoor sporting venues in the county to host prestigious tournaments all year round.

Since January 2014 the sports hall has been home to the Olycats Handball team, made up of the Olympic GB Handball team of 2012. The Olycats play their home matches at The Arena.

In addition to hosting regular matches and championships, the sports hall is set to become an integral space in the Department of Sport Science and Physical Activity, complementing discipline leading Sport and Exercise Science and modern muscle cell and molecular biology laboratories, all co-located on the Bedford campus

Together these facilities give students a fantastic environment to develop their research skills and expertise, where a student can explore the genetics of an elite athlete who could be performing simultaneously within The Arena.

Few Sport Science courses in the country offer students such unique discipline leading research experience and skills, alongside intimate access to world leading researchers within their field. Students are regularly offered the opportunity to be involved within discipline defining Sport, Health and Exercise Science research

The sports hall is a major teaching facility for the University's Sport and Physical Education degree courses which have trained physical educators in the UK for over a century.

The Arena and associated facilities provide our trainee teachers and coaches with a superb environment in which to coach and teach pupils from local primary schools who are also benefiting from this new facility.

New Teaching and Learning Building (opening early 2015)

Computer-generated image of the proposed new teaching building at Bedford campus

The major component of the project is the construction of a new three storey building that will offer students high quality teaching spaces, informal learning spaces, lecture theatres and a new student services centre.

Bedfordshire based Kier Construction started work on site in late October 2013 with the building scheduled to open its doors to students at the start of the January 2015 term.

Other works forming part of the Project include:

Multi-use games area (MUGA) development

In conjunction with the adjacent Goldington Academy, the development of a multi-use games area (MUGA) on the Academy’s playing fields, will be completed by Summer 2014.

The full size, floodlit all-weather pitch will be a significant new facility for the Academy. Pupils will benefit from access to an increased programme of sports with associated benefits in terms of health, fitness and team-playing skills.

For the University, a facility that allows students to play hockey league standard matches all year and will enhance the facilities that the University can offer students in its role as a centre of excellence in Sports Education.

Q&A

How environmentally-friendly will the building be?

The project team is currently aiming towards a BREEAM rating of 'excellent' and is fully committed to designing the most energy efficient building and services to meet the University's needs. The building includes a number of sustainable and low carbon technologies to minimise impact on the environment.

The BREEAM family of assessment methods and tools are all designed to help construction professionals understand and mitigate the environmental impacts of the developments they design and build.

How is the University managing risks within the project?

Our design team and Project Board have jointly developed a project risk register which lists and categorises all risks to the project using a traffic-light system. Reviews of the register are undertaken regularly and key risks are presented to the Project Board for action.

The project team are committed to minimising construction work during key University periods as exams and graduations and will work to ensure that noise is kept to a minimum.

How is the University funding this?

The University's turnover has grown from £81m to £130m over the past four years, owing to successful student recruitment and sound financial management.