MyGlasgow News

This week sees the first of what will be a comprehensive series of staff, student and public consultation events to help shape the University’s Campus Vision.

It follows confirmation that the University has secured most of the site currently occupied by the Western Infirmary in an area bounded by Dumbarton Road, Church Street and University Avenue.  Talks are continuing with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to secure a remaining part of the site which would provide the entire 14 acres for University use. The Western Infirmary will continue to operate until 2015.

This week students and staff are invited to a drop-in event taking place at the new Welcome Point in the John McIntyre building (near the main gate) on Wednesday 20th February. I t will run from 1000 until 1900.

Next week, the first of the public consultation events takes place for the local community, businesses and key stakeholders who are being invited to a drop-in event taking place at Hillhead Library, Byres Road on Monday 25th February from 1600 until 2000.

The consultation exercise is beginning from the very start. Ann Allen, Director of Estates and Buildings, said: “At this stage, there are no architects’ plans and there are no scale models and this may surprise some people.  If are going to genuinely consult it is important to involve all our communities from the very beginning of this project to help us understand what staff, students and the residents of the West End of Glasgow feel they need. We will be studying the responses in great detail as will the architects who will be involved in this redevelopment.

“There will also be widespread discussions with Glasgow City Council, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and other key stakeholders on the most appropriate way to develop this very big site.  Our ambition is to make this the most widely discussed and the most widely accepted development plan that we can.”

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “This is as significant a development, in the on-going story of the University of Glasgow as the relocation to Gilmorehill from the city centre was in 1870. The acquisition of the Western Infirmary site will allow us a unique opportunity to provide modern, fit for purpose facilities that are in keeping with Glasgow’s status as a world leading research-intensive university. As ever, the student experience is at the heart of all that we do, and the campus redevelopment will allow us to focus on what our students want and need, as well as providing an environment that is open and accessible to the wider community.”

For more information, go to http://www.gla.ac.uk/campusdevelopment  

 

 

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First published: 15 February 2013