De Montfort University (DMU) is a dynamic institution with a long and vibrant history of improving people’s lives through education. Founded as the Leicester School of Art in 1870, the University has evolved through many incarnations, including the Leicester Colleges of Art and Technology and Leicester Polytechnic. This officially became De Montfort University in 1992. The name was chosen to reflect the University’s long association with Leicester by commemorating the celebrated Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, a crucial figure in medieval English history who established the first parliament in 1265. Our reputation is for quality and distinctiveness in teaching and research, which is a direct result of our heritage, and also for our inclusivity and efforts to give equal opportunities for all.

The University estate has changed significantly over the last three decades. The 1990s was a period of expansion, with mergers and acquisitions. By the millennium, the University had ten campuses stretching from Lincolnshire down to Bedfordshire. The turn of the century refocused our direction and was a period of consolidation, in recognition that our past, present and future were in Leicester.

A ten-year estates strategy and master plan was approved by the University, and outline planning permission was secured for 100,000 sq m of new development at the Leicester City campus, which was formally adopted by the local planning authority as supplementary planning guidance in its local plan.

The consolidation programme saw the University withdraw from all but the Leicester City campus, and by 2010 we had invested some £120m in capital schemes on academic buildings, levering in more than £100m of private investment on the construction of student accommodation. Key projects over this time included the £40m realignment of a section of the inner-city ring road and construction of the new Hugh Aston building for business and law. This framed the campus between the ring road and the River Soar, and at the same time connected it to the city centre.

In 2012 DMU was the first UK-based university to secure a £90m bond that was to be invested wholly in the estate to transform the city-centre campus. The centrepiece of the project was the redevelopment of the Fletcher complex to create the Vijay Patel building, a combination of a 10,000 sq m 1960s tower block refurbishment and a 16,000 sq m newbuild wing, to provide a new home for art and design students.

Internal shot of Vijay Patel buidling

The £65m investment included the pedestrianisation and landscaping of a public highway running through the heart of the campus. This largest single-project investment has been a tremendous success, completely changing the look and feel of the campus into a modern, vibrant, fun place in which to work and study.

DMU has a proud tradition of salvaging and restoring historic buildings, and its campus is an attractive mix of old and new architecture. Its achievements were recognised when in 2010 it won the People’s Choice of the Year Award for Regeneration Champion of the Decade in the Procon Leicestershire Awards. The Vijay Patel building secured the 2016 Leicester Civic Society Award for ‘new build complementing the historic built environment’. 

Aerial shot of Hugh Aston building

In 2016 the University signed up to a 125-year lease on the Leicester Castle great hall, built in 1150 and the oldest surviving structure of this type in the country. This historically significant building had been unused since 1992, and the £4m renovation and refurbishment has brought it new life, blending restored historical elements in modern design, and creating an unmatched environment as the new home for DMU’s Leicester Castle Business School.

The Estates and Commercial Services directorate is responsible for managing all aspects relating to the University’s 176,000 sq m physical estate, from development, acquisitions and disposals, maintenance, security, energy and sustainability, cleaning, post and porterage, through to catering, student accommodation, leisure, conference services and car parking. The services are provided by a careful blend of in-house staff and external contractors. Expertise within the multidisciplinary estates team ensures that it can challenge external suppliers and contractors on design specifications, sustainability and value.

Looking ahead, against a backdrop of efficiency requirements, rising energy costs, increased student expectations and funding cuts, the real challenge for the directorate will be to maintain and sustain the standards of the significant investment made to date on the estate, while moving forward with the next inspirational new development.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article taken from the book ‘AUDE: The First 25 Years’. Digital and hard copies available to buy.

Content for the book was drafted during 2016 and 2017 and was correct at the time of writing.