A new report on the UK’s university estate reports £2bn of annual maintenance costs alongside more than £2.75bn capital expenditure, as the total university estate has grown by 200,000 metres over the previous year to meet the demands of staff and students.
The Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) annual report, covering 2014-2015, details the changing nature of the university estate in the UK. It said the university estate equates to 14.3 million square metres – more than 170 times the space of the Shard building in London and an increase of 200,000 square metres since the previous year.
In addition to the £2bn maintenance costs, capital expenditure was more than £2.75bn, a growth of 5.6% on last year, and was driven by investment in the knowledge that staff and students expect high quality and attractive facilities.
Individually, the universities of Manchester, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford and Nottingham all have academic estates (i.e. excluding residential accommodation) of more than 500,000 square metres. Total property costs have remained relatively level at £98 per square metre.
The report cites examples of universities boosting their estate income through commercial deals with businesses such as Ocado and Regus for office space, commercial leases with the Santander bank and the NHS.
Sir Ian Diamond, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, comments: ‘A real feature of the evolution of the higher education estate in recent years has been how the local community is able to use the estate, or in which developments are a part of the community. Imaginatively developed facilities can support and enhance higher education’s contribution to the economy and to society. But in this landscape, there is no room for complacency.’
