Following the move of all student services and other departments out of the Nuffield building we are now ready to commence demolition work to make way for a proposed new teaching and learning facility. We are also starting to make preparations for closing the Spinnaker Building, although the timing of this has not yet been agreed.
Demolition of Nuffield
Emptying the building is just the start of the process. We are nearly at the end of undertaking the necessary building surveys and making arrangements to disconnect or divert any underground services such as the utilities and IT cabling.
The next stage is to begin the work to demolish the building. We are expecting this work to commence on 20 March with demolition activity beginning on Monday 27 March, to be completed at the beginning of July.
Before we start demolishing the building we will need to erect hoardings around the Nuffield site. Where there is no roadside pavement, a footpath route will be maintained from the Nuffield Car Park Entrance up to the 3-way road crossing.
Environment
The demolition contractors will manage dust suppression with water, and will ensure that all mature trees on site are to be protected and remain in place during the demolition works.
Site working hours will generally be between 7.30am and 6.00pm Monday to Friday, with no noisy work beginning before 8.00am. Works are not likely to be that noisy until the end when foundations have to be removed. Spinnaker Building occupants will be contacted regularly through the process to manage any potential disruption.
Closure of Nuffield car park
To enable this work to be undertaken we will need to temporarily close Nuffield Car Park. The car park will be partially closed from Monday 20 March, and fully closed from Monday 27 March until further notice. We are looking at possible solutions to mitigate the impact of this closure and will share more information with colleagues when possible.
Next steps for the Spinnaker Building
We have previously communicated to staff that we intend to close and demolish the Spinnaker Building to provide an enhanced site, along with the former Nuffield Building site, for new teaching and learning facilities, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors.
The next stage is to ensure that we can provide adequate alternative facilities to those that are available in Spinnaker, including the more technical and complex areas such as the climate laboratories. We are exploring a number of options and will update colleagues about this when a solution has been agreed. We will provide more information about the process and timings as they are known.
Programmes of this scale and complexity will inevitably involve some description to students and staff. We are working hard to ensure this is minimised and will keep everyone informed of any changes and developments throughout the process.
