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UWE Campus Sites

Client: University of the West of England
Services Provided:
Planning Consultancy   •   Agency & Commercial Development   •   Investment Agency   •   Valuation   •   Education

Over the past 10 years, Alder King has provided multi-disciplinary consultancy services to the University of the West of England, comprising planning, investment, valuation and estate management.

In 2008, Alder King was instrumental in the purchase of 70 acres of land from UWE’s neighbour Hewlett Packard in 2008.  The land doubled the size of the Campus and secured the long term future of the University in North Bristol.  Alder King was responsible for undertaking the following key tasks:

  • Negotiations with the local planning authority to ensure change of use for education purposes
  • Reviewing the land’s existing planning situation (permissions, conditions and legal agreements) and advising on the final deal to ensure it accurately reflected the planning potential
  • Initial master planning advice

The purchase of the land was completed in October 2008. Our planning team was retained by UWE to provide town planning advice to a multi-disciplinary Masterplanning Team appointed to develop a masterplan for the combined campus. We worked closely with the Council, key stakeholders and the local community to promote the strategic objectives for the campus through the production of a Concept Statement. We were extensively involved in a four-stage public consultation exercise, including liaison with local community representatives. We have since obtained outline consent for the masterplan, along with subsequent detailed contents for a Students Union, Phases I and II of student accommodation, a new engineering building and various minor projects.

Planning consents have also been obtained for two new academic buildings at UWE’s Bower Ashton Campus and refurbishment works at the Glenside Campus. The former is located in a sensitive location in a Conservation Area and the latter is a Grade II listed building, also situated in a Conservation Area.

In 2018 Alder King acted on behalf of UWE on the acquisition of the remaining balance of the former Hewlett Packard estate (two buildings comprising high-spec office and laboratory space and an energy centre). The buildings provide a potential campus expansion opportunity but Alder King has been retained to help establish an interim short-term strategy to manage the building as a multi-occupied office investment. As the buildings were not originally designed for multi-occupation, our initial involvement has been to co-ordinate the physical changes to the buildings to accommodate multi-occupancy and thereafter to establish and manage a series of building support services.

Alder King also provides an on-going valuation service to the University of its campus assets in Bristol.

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