To Gazette No. 4449 (9 October 1997)
The following report has been sent for comment to colleges, faculty boards, and other bodies of the University. Members of Congregation, who wish to make individual comments, should send these to the Surveyor to the University before the end of Michaelmas Term. All comments received will be considered by the Buildings Committee which will then report to Council.
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(i) At its meeting on 5 May 1995, Council approved the establishment of a working party with the following terms of reference: `To review the requirements for, and availability of, sites for development by the University, and to propose, with the assistance of professional consultants as appropriate, an outline development plan for the next 20 years, having regard to:
(a) in particular, but not exclusively, the Radcliffe Infirmary site, and to such sites within the University's estate as may be freed by the relocation of activities to that site or elsewhere by the achievement by parts or all of the three-site strategy, and
(b) the needs for space and facilities, and opportunities for rationalisation, across the University as a whole;
and to advise on the financial implications of its proposals and of alternative options.'
The membership of the Working Party was:
Vice-Chancellor-elect (Master of Balliol) (Chairman)
Mr A B Atkinson (Warden of Nuffield)
Professor R J Cashmore (Balliol)
Professor C M Perrins (Chairman of the Buildings Committee)
Dr P A Slack (Chairman of the General Board and, from October 1996, Principal
of Linacre)
[Dr L G Black was co-opted onto the Working Party in October 1996 as the new Chairman of the General Board]
Secretary: Surveyor to the University
In attendance: Registrar
(ii) The full Working Party met 21 times between 25 July 1995 and 1 July 1997. It received written and oral evidence as listed in Annexe B. It has not called for assistance from professional consultants beyond the advice available from a number of services inside the University.
(iii) This final report has been delayed by continuing uncertainties about the timetable and procedures for vacating and selling the Radcliffe Infirmary site and also by the need to identify a site for the Business School. Council referred the latter question to the Working Party which undertook a further review of available sites and recommended that the site now occupied by the Railway Station car park be purchased and allocated for this purpose. As for the former uncertainty, it has not yet been resolved at the time of this report's presentation.
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(i) The Working Party has been unable to identify a strategic plan for the University's academic activities over the next 20 years upon which it might base a projection of requirements for space. It has therefore sought guidance in other sources.
(ii) The University's strategic four-year forecast in its 1995--6 return to HEFCE assumed that student numbers would continue to grow at about 1 per cent per annum with most of that increase being in postgraduate students. Apart from Management Studies, no academic area was singled out for growth in student numbers and it has therefore to be assumed to be an across-the-board increase. Any assumption about the longer period of 20 years in this domain is necessarily insecure. However, in light of the doubling of numbers in Higher Education in Britain since 1990, the Working Party considers that it is reasonable to assume a continuing trend to growth in student numbers in Oxford, though the distribution between undergraduates and postgraduates and between subject areas cannot be predicted. As a working assumption, the projection of a modest 1 per cent per annum growth in total student numbers amounts over 20 years to 22 per cent or over 3,000 students. Such a growth must mean a significant requirement for expansion in teaching and laboratory space, libraries, administration and other central facilities. It will also mean a requirement for increased residential accommodation. The Working Party considers that its terms of reference do not extend to examining whether this growth should be met by the expansion of existing Colleges or whether other forms of accommodation and affiliation could be used. This is a question which the University should address separately and directly.
(iii) In order to try to identify future functional space needs in terms of both research activity and increased students numbers, the Working Party invited all faculties, departments and other academic units of the University to predict their space needs for the next 20 years. They were asked to pay particular attention to the 1 per cent growth scenario and whether increases in these needs could be met on the sites they presently occupied or expected to occupy under plans already approved, such as the three-site strategy. A summary of the responses is attached at Annexe C to this report [not reproduced here]. The Working Party was conscious that the colleges make a significant contribution to the provision of the space required by the academic business of the University. However, it has felt that the colleges' experience in the provision of space could be most effectively consulted by the University as part of the reflection on the recommendations of this report.
(iv) The Working Party felt that the estimates in these responses tended to be somewhat conservative, especially in science departments. It speculated that the year 1995--6 might have coincided with a moment of anxiety and perplexity about the future in a context of major funding cuts and depressive public rhetoric. Certainly, responses from the sciences contrasted with the perceptions of a Steering Group on the Radcliffe Infirmary Site in 1989--90 (which did not publish a report). Similarly, the responses contrast with the substantial flow of projects in response to an enquiry by the Planning and Resources Sub-committee in 1996--7.
(v) It is difficult to predict growth in research activity and no such forecast appears in the University's return to HEFCE. However, it is clear that there has been and continues to be a rapid expansion in the volume of research across the whole University. The Working Party believes that Oxford's success in the recent Research Assessment Exercise and in the size of research funding from different sources indicate that this trend will continue. National policies on the concentration of funding may well accelerate that trend together with its accompanying increase in numbers from postgraduates through to contract research staff. Continuing expansion of sponsored research will generate new research groups, especially though not exclusively in science disciplines. There are clear implications in terms of increased space requirements.
(vi) The Working Party believes that the recent past may also shed light on future space needs. Over the last 20 years, the University has expanded its functional space by 14 per cent and has approved plans for a further 10 per cent increase in the next 3 years. Student numbers have increased by 29 per cent. Established academic staff have increased only by 4 per cent but non-established staff by 340 per cent. A direct projection forward is not of course reliable but the orders of magnitude are instructive. The growth in the number of students expected to attend the Department of Continuing Education is forecast to rise by 30 per cent to 20,000 per year within 15 years. The floor area of science departments has been increasing at an average of over 1 per cent per year (16 per cent in the ten years 1985--95) and the rate shows no sign of slackening. At the present rate of growth, a further 50,000m2 nett (70,000m2 gross) of floor space (30 per cent increase) would be needed for science in the next 20 years.
(vii) From the responses to its enquiries, its own observations and discussions with selected Chairmen of Faculty Boards and Heads of Department, the Working Party has concluded that, irrespective of projected future requirements, the current provision of space is decreasingly able to satisfy current needs in a number of areas. Pressure on space is a fact of life in any busy university. However, at some points the shortage has reached critical proportions, especially though not exclusively in the Arts. By way of illustration here, the Working Party notes the serious underprovision for Modern History and Classics. The failure of two small units (Humanities Research Institute and the Brazilian Studies Centre) to find accommodation in University space in 1996--7 is symptomatic of the level of the shortage. The Working Party is also alarmed that the report of the Working Party on the Ashmolean Site recognizes that not one of the units on that site will have adequate space. As for the Science Area, apart from a few pockets of developable land reserved for the Biosciences, the Working Party notes that this area is close to saturation. The Headington Site appears to contain sufficient expansion space for predicted needs in medical science. These matters are discussed further below.
(viii) The Working Party reviewed the current allocations and use of space. It noted that there was no mechanism within the University for examining whether space was used in the most efficient manner, as space was allocated on a block basis to Departments and Faculties to control and to manage. The Working Party noted that, when judged by the HEFCE-recommended space standards, the University in general appeared not to use efficiently the space used for teaching and that there might therefore be some space available for reallocation. The Working Party considers that the University ought to address whether the usage of teaching space during term-time and vacation could be improved. Any space released would, however, be in the form of small pockets in different buildings and would not assist in strategic planning. The Working Party considers therefore that reallocation, rationalisation or more intensive use of existing space offer no solution to the general space requirements of the University.
(ix) Therefore, the Working Party concludes that the University's future development over the next twenty years and beyond requires the acquisition of substantial additional space. The unbuilt or unused space available within the central perimeter of the University is insufficient to meet predictable expansion as well as the assumed developments which are as yet unforeseen but can be expected in a dynamic university. The failure to acquire additional space would be a failure to invest in the future and would be seriously detrimental to innovation and vitality in the University.
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(i) The terms of reference for the Working Party assume the acquisition of the Radcliffe Infirmary site. The site is approximately 10 acres and currently provides 48,000m2 gross floor area. The strategic value of this large central site to the University's future is self-evident. As noted in the Introduction, the future of this site remains uncertain at the time of this report. Therefore, the Working Party recommends
(One) that the University continues to accord the highest priority to the acquisition of the whole Radcliffe Infirmary site.
(ii) Nonetheless, the Working Party does not believe that the acquisition of this site will necessarily absorb all the unforeseen developments that can be expected in a growing and vigorous university. Furthermore, it believes that the University should act positively to preserve its development options for the medium and longer term future by acquiring over time a strategic landbank. These options will become immediately important if it proves impossible to acquire the whole or even any part at all of the Radcliffe Infirmary site. Therefore, the Working Party recommends
(Two) that the University seeks actively to constitute over time a landbank of strategic sites for its future expansion.
(iii) The importance of the Radcliffe Infirmary site emphasizes also the significance for the University of the land between the Woodstock Road and the Banbury Road enclosed on either side by the Infirmary and the Keble Road Triangle. The Working Party believes that the University ought to extend its holding in this area in order to achieve a continuous sweep of property from the Science Area to the Walton Street end of the Infirmary site. It therefore recommends
(Three) that the University should seek to acquire sites between the Radcliffe Infirmary site and the Science Area.
(iv) The Working Party understands that the continuing growth of the Oxford University Press is causing a shortage of space in its Walton Street buildings. If the Press should eventually decide to move to a larger site outside the city, these buildings would offer a substantial net addition of space whether for departmental/faculty use or for accommodation (possibly, a new college). [Note: it should be noted that the Press has no current plans to move from Walton Street.]
(v) The ability of the University to expand beyond its current perimeter in a continuous or at least closely planted way is severely constrained by planning and other considerations. The protection of residential areas inhibits expansion north and south, except for a few isolated sites. Expansion eastward not only meets similar difficulties but also encounters the Oxford Brookes University campus and its legitimate claim to expansion sites. Beyond that, it appears possible to satisfy future expansion requirements of the University's biomedical units in the Headington area provided that the National Health Service continues to hold the land currently earmarked for health care use (see below, section 11) and makes part of it available for University use. The Working Party recommends
(Four) that in the event that the National Health Service disposes of its surplus land in Headington, the University should seek to acquire part for the expansion of medical research.
(vi) It is clear, however, that the natural direction for expansion open to the University is towards the west, specifically from the perimeter constituted by Worcester, Nuffield and the Castle towards the railway station and tracks, and beyond. There are few good-quality buildings and few well-rooted businesses here, at least between the city and the station. In an interim report accepted by Council 3 February 1997, the Working Party recommended the purchase of three significant sites in this area either known or expected to be on the market. Furthermore, the Accommodation Committee has constructed student accommodation at Rewley Abbey by the station and wishes to increase its holdings in this general area. In addition, the University has recently completed the acquisition of one unit on the Osney Mead Industrial Estate. The Working Party believes that the University should continue actively to make strategic purchases in West Oxford and to collaborate with colleges which own property there in the elaboration of a plan for the use of space. Accordingly, it recommends
(Five) that the University proceeds actively to acquire sites to the west of the present perimeter towards the railway station and beyond, in collaboration with colleges owning property in this area.
(vii) The option of moving the whole Science Area to a remote location did not commend itself to the Working Party. Quite apart from the costs involved, it believes that such a choice would eventually result in a substantial and unwelcome modification of the University through a separation of Arts and Sciences. Similarly, the option of separating research and teaching functions on this basis appeared to the Working Party to be both unworkable in practice and to lead the University in a direction that would modify the character of the University in an unwelcome direction. The Working Party believes, therefore, that the acquisition of a remote site for the whole of science should only be actively pursued if it proves impossible to acquire the Radcliffe Infirmary site and if other estate strategies within the city are insufficient.
The Working Party has also considered whether the University should seek to establish a large greenfield site with the specific purpose of relocating a significant part of science. In this context, it met the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University and discussed the Cambridge West Site strategy. However, it does not believe that the Cambridge situation is properly comparable to the Oxford one in terms either of the geographical relationship of the West Site to the present centres of university activity or of the existing ownership of appropriately sited blocks of land. The Working Party concluded that such a site was only to be found outside the Ring Road (for example adjacent to the Magdalen Science Park) or else further away (for example, in association with the existing science activities at Culham). It discussed these options with a number of heads of science departments, who advised that sites outside the Ring Road were too remote from the present Science Area for successful collaboration. It would however be a prudent policy to acquire one or more major sites in North or West Oxford as an insurance against the Radcliffe Infirmary site not becoming available. The Working Party therefore recommends
(Six) that the University should examine the possibility of acquiring development sites in North or West Oxford and retain them until the Radcliffe Infirmary site is secured.
It is clearly the case that if more space is not found for the science disciplines, they will be unable to grow properly. This does require the location of some science units on a site or sites not contiguous to the present Science Area. Nonetheless, the Working Party believes that a remote second site would be more detrimental than beneficial to the development of Oxford science. The idea of a second Science Area was addressed and rejected by the Committee on Requirements and Sites in its report on the future requirements of the science departments (1962). This was endorsed by the Holford Report (1963). This Working Party believes that the science disciplines are even more closely related now than they were then and that there is increasing interpenetration or overlap between areas of disciplines that were originally distinct. Most innovative research and disciplinary development is now being done at the interface between traditionally defined disciplines. The Working Party accepts that the separation of broad areas of science (e.g. physical sciences and biological sciences, though the precise character of the boundary between them is not everywhere easy to determine) into two locations remote from each other would cut across the perceived future of science research. It was suggested to the Working Party that the University should provide sites for joint ventures with industry but the Working Party feels that there is not enough space in Central Oxford for such developments and that they would more appropriately be located on a Science or Business Park.
(viii) In considering the strategic needs of the University, the Working Party believes that there is a need to provide flexible, short-tenancy space in which new initiatives in the Arts and Sciences (whether cross-disciplinary groups, small institutes, new programmes or individual scholars on term funding) may be given the opportunity to grow and prove themselves. It believes that such provision would enhance the flexibility of the University to accommodate new growth. It believes that there is considerable advantage in locating space for this purpose very close to the major disciplinary resources on which such initiatives depend considerably in their early stages. Proposals in this sense are made in later sections of this report.
(ix) In making those recommendations of detail which involve moving academic units, the Working Party has been aware that the cost of relocation is not simply to be calculated in terms of money or even the time and effort of individuals. It has been mindful that the local form of a discipline may be to some extent defined by the spatial relationships in which it has developed over time and that to relocate may be to bring that definition into question. Equally, the Working Party is conscious of the strong attachment that some departments, faculties and other units have to the space they currently occupy. In making recommendations, the Working Party has sought to respect these considerations as far as possible. In some cases, however, the general balance of advantage favours a move which is, in reality, over a small distance.
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(i) The expansion of the Science Area As reported above, the Working Party felt that, on the evidence of historic trend, science departments had rather under-evaluated their future space needs over 20 years, especially in terms of the growth of interdisciplinary research and teaching. At the same time, it noted that, apart from a few pockets of developable land reserved for the Biosciences, the Science Area was close to being full. Moreover, it is clear that the quality of space will need remedy in some places. In particular, the Working Party notes that the case appears to have been made for a large-scale rebuilding programme for Chemistry. Finally, the Working Party notes the project to provide a new building for the University Club near the Science Area would free the present site for redevelopment.
As for the availability of space in the Science Area, there is a limited amount of scope for minor extensions and infilling; but this can only increase the sense of overcrowding. Expansion of the perimeter of the Science Area is not an option for reasons of planning restrictions, conservation and, in the case of the former Merton Playing Field, resolution of Congregation. The main areas for potential development are:
(a) Central Car Park Buildings of about 12,000m2 gross floor area could be fitted onto this site.
(b) Halifax House Site About 10,000m2 of floor space could be created in the site of Halifax House/8 South Parks Road and in the gardens behind. Part of this was reserved for the Brain and Behaviour project, but this allocation has now lapsed.
(c) Old Observatory Site A building of about 5,000m2 floor space could be fitted in between the Physiology and Old Observatory buildings and this space is provisionally allocated for Genetics. Further development on this site might be possible if planning consent for the demolition of the Old Observatory could be obtained.
(d) Sir William Dunn School of Pathology Sites exist along the boundary with the University Parks for a further 10,000m2 of new buildings.
(e) Keble Road Triangle A building of about 4,000m2 could be erected on the site of 44--6 Banbury Road and one of about 5,000m2 on 12--15 Parks Road. Taking into account the existing buildings, the net gain would be about 6,000m2. The Working Party considers that users of the Science area already suffer from lack of open space and from the buildings being too close to one another. It reiterates its belief that further loss of open space through infilling rather than redevelopment would be undesirable.
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(ii) Faculty centres for the Arts and Social Sciences In 1991, Congregation approved Council's recommendation that increased provision of space and other facilities was needed for teaching and research in the Arts and Social Studies Faculties. The outcome of this recommendation is the three-site strategy, which provides for faculty centres for Law, Social Studies, Classics and Modern Languages, and on a temporary basis for English. Construction is to begin on Phase 1 on the St Cross site in 1997 and on the Ashmolean site in 1998.
No provision was made to improve facilities for Modern History, Philosophy and Theology because of lack of space on the central site. The Working Party considers that those needs, plus those of funding a permanent home for English, should be given high priority in an estate strategy. The requirement to replace Queen Elizabeth House before 2005 should also be included in this category. Finally, the Working Party believes that the issue of overcrowding on the Ashmolean Site must be addressed. It makes recommendations on these matters later in the report.
No significant space for new building is available on the central site beyond that which has been committed for the completion of the projects for the Ashmolean and St Cross Sites and this report assumes that both developments will be completed.
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(iii) Improvements to the facilities of the Bodleian Library The Working Party noted the public criticism of these facilities and had discussions with Bodley's Librarian as to how improvements might be made by the provision of extra space. The option of following the Cambridge model and relocating the whole of the Bodleian Library onto a single site was considered unrealistic. Bodley's Librarian and the Chairman of the Libraries Board felt that a continuation of the present policy of establishing satellite specialist libraries such as the Bodleian Law Library and the proposed Social Studies Library was the most practicable way of relieving pressure on Bodleian facilities on the central site. Bodley's Librarian considered that the next subject category to be moved off the central site should be the remainder of the Oriental books, but the Working Party felt that there was also scope for moving out the English, History and Theology books in the Radcliffe Camera to be co-located with enlarged faculty libraries. Subsequent discussion with the Director of University Library Services confirmed his predecessor's advice but the Director expressed some uncertainty as to how much could be moved from the holdings in the Radcliffe Camera in the light of the needs of researchers working in the Bodleian reading rooms. The Working Party noted the recommendations of the Libraries Board to establish a central preservation service for all University libraries and to continue to develop out-of-town storage.
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(i) The Radcliffe Infirmary site is the largest piece of land in central Oxford likely to come on the market in the foreseeable future. For much of its work, the Working Party has assumed (as it was invited to do by its terms of reference) that this site will be acquired by the University. It regards its allocation as the key to any estate strategy. On the basis of the information available to it at the time of writing this report, the Working Party believes that the University would not have possession of the site before 2002 at the earliest.
(ii) The existing buildings on the site comprise both Grade 2 listed buildings fronting the Woodstock Road and a miscellaneous collection of buildings of different dates and quality between the listed buildings and Walton St The site is 10 acres in area and currently provides 48,000m2 gross floor area.
The Working Party considered that three faculties were the best candidates to move to the Radcliffe Infirmary site: English, Modern Languages and Modern History.
There is insufficient space in the planned St Cross development for English to be given adequate facilities and the St Cross Working Party's recommendation that the long-term centre for English should be elsewhere has already been accepted. Therefore, this Working Party believes that the Faculty of English and its Library should be one of the new faculty centres. The St Cross site could then be reserved for Law and Social Studies, including the international part of Social Studies now undertaken in Queen Elizabeth House.
The Working Party noted that projected occupancy of the Ashmolean Site involved palpable overcrowding (and hence lack of opportunity for further growth in each of the units there). It noted that the space requirements reported to the Working Party by Modern Languages could not be met in the Modern Languages Centre next to the Taylor Institution as current proposals stand. Therefore, it seemed to the Working Party that Modern Languages would benefit considerably from the relocation of its faculty centre and library to more spacious accommodation alongside English. This in turn would free space for reallocation in the Ashmolean Site. However, in discussion with the Chairman of the Faculty Board, it was made clear to the Working Party that the Board and the Curators of the Taylor Institution were strongly opposed to any such move. In particular, it was made clear that the members of the Modern Languages Faculty were deeply attached to the Taylorian as the original site of their foundation. The Working Party acknowledges the strength of this sentiment. More especially, it believes it to be essential to the raising of the funds needed for the development of the Radcliffe Infirmary site that a Faculty participating in such a move should give the proposal active support. Under these circumstances, it did not therefore proceed further with the idea to relocate Modern Languages and the Taylor Institution in this way.
As for the Faculty of Modern History, a discussion with the Chairman of the Faculty Board indicated that the space needs of the Faculty were now so acute that it would accept the penalties of being further from the books in the central Bodleian site in order to have adequate space. Therefore, the Faculty of Modern History should be relocated to the second faculty centre. It would also be necessary to move the Faculty Library. Furthermore, from the perspective of general space needs, it would also be highly desirable to move the History and English books from the Upper and Lower Radcliffe Camera to the faculty centres. The space released in the Camera would then be available to improve Bodleian facilities.
The Working Party therefore recommends
(Seven) that the listed buildings on the Radcliffe Infirmary site be converted to provide Faculty Centres for English and History with provision for their Faculty Libraries in an adjacent new building.
The Working Party notes the wish of Hertford College to acquire the old Indian Institute building. It is conscious that issues of University patrimony and the intentions of original donors are involved here. However, it is not opposed to this idea and, indeed, feels that the proceeds of the sale could usefully be put towards the redevelopment costs of the Infirmary building. Nonetheless, it recommends
(Eight) that the old Indian Institute be offered to the Bodleian Library, which should be invited to put forward proposals for using the building to improve library facilities and to release space in the New Bodleian building in accordance with the proposals that the Working Party makes for the central site (see Recommendations sixteen and seventeen)
(a) By allowing Departments to develop annexes and inter-disciplinary institutes as and when the need arises and funding is available. The advantages of such an approach are that it retains maximum flexibility for the response to unpredicted development and that it allows existing buildings to be reused for the medium term, thus reducing costs. The disadvantage is that this would maintain or create a hotch-potch of buildings similar to much of the present Science Area and lead to further fragmentation of Departments between buildings at a time when cost pressures demand rationalisation and avoidance of duplication. The Working Party recognises that if funds cannot be raised for an integrated development of the site, this may be the only option but it is not the preferred recommendation.
(b) By relocating a function from all Departments through the creation on the Radcliffe Infirmary site of a centre for the teaching of all Science undergraduates (on the model of some North American universities). The Working Party sought the views of the Heads of Science Departments on this proposal, irrespective of whether it would be sited on the Radcliffe Infirmary site or in the Science Area. Although some Departments, notably those in the Chemistry Sub-faculty, were supportive, the general response was negative. Concerns were expressed about the loss of contact with students. The Working Party noted that the space to be freed up in each Department by the removal of teaching functions would be in the form of `puddles' rather than `pools' of space, which would require costly conversion and consequential rationalisation. More especially, it felt once again that broad and active support would be a prerequisite for raising the very large sum of money needed to provide a centre for the teaching of 4,000 students and, without this support, it is unable to recommend this proposal whether for the Infirmary site or for the Science Area.
(c) By relocating one or more whole Departments. The Working Party considered that Engineering Science and Chemistry were possible candidates; Engineering Science because it is dispersed over 13 buildings mainly on the Keble Triangle site which has little capacity for further development, while recent reviews of Chemistry have recommended that its buildings urgently need rebuilding to bring them to modern standards. The Head of Engineering Science saw advantages for the Department in a move to purpose-built accommodation shared with the Department of Materials on the Radcliffe Infirmary site but only if the University was able to make a firm commitment and provide the resources to complete the move within a short period. In discussion with the Chairman of the Interdepartmental Committee for Chemistry, it was agreed that the Radcliffe Infirmary was close enough for successful interaction with other areas of Science to continue and that moving to new buildings on this site would help to create a departmental identity. However the need for modernising its buildings was now so urgent that Chemistry wished instead to move ahead with reprovision in the Science area starting with building of new laboratories on the 2--4 South Parks Road car park site and the Working Party accepts that acquisition of the Radcliffe Infirmary site is too uncertain and too distant to be a solution to Chemistry's immediate problems.
The Working Party concludes that, though desirable, the relocation of one or more whole Departments in a single move is not a realistic objective, given the large capital cost. At the same time, it remains of the opinion that an unplanned development of the site on a `first-come, first-served' basis would not be in the University's long-term interests for the reasons already advanced. It believes that this part of the Radcliffe Infirmary site should be designated as the long-term expansion space for the Physical Sciences. In particular, mindful of the expressed needs and perceived future of Engineering Science and Materials, the Working Party envisages that, over the time period covered by this report, these Departments should be provided with purpose-built space on this site. To this end, the Working Party believes both that new space for expansion of these Departments should be located henceforth here and that future needs for major refurbishment or modernisation of their existing buildings should instead be met by relocation here. This requires from the beginning the adoption of an architectural design capable of providing appropriate space in successive stages over time. Such space as will be vacated by these Departments should become expansion space for Physical Science Departments currently located further east in the Science Area. Accordingly, the Working Party recommends
(Nine) that the Walton Street side of the Radcliffe Infirmary be designated as expansion space for Physical Sciences and more particularly for the long-term expansion and reprovision of Engineering and Materials.
As stated earlier in this report, the Working Party believes that there is a need for short-term, flexible space to house new developments in Science. Some of the buildings on the Radcliffe Infirmary site are worth retaining, for example the Gibson and Harkness buildings which were purpose-built in the 1970s for biomedical research. In the short and medium term, the Working Party sees the existing buildings as offering this sort of space for initiatives in Physical Science. Therefore, it recommends
(Ten) that existing buildings on the Walton Street side of the Radcliffe Infirmary site be allocated as flexible short-tenancy space for the Physical Sciences, as far as is compatible with recommendation Nine.
Furthermore, the Working Party also perceives an equal need for such space for new developments in the Biological Sciences. In the medium term, it expects that need to be met in the central and eastern parts of the Science Area either in space vacated through reprovisioning Chemistry or in new builds. However, there is clearly a short-term need that should be met on the Radcliffe Infirmary site, where the requirements of Physical Science will not immediately occupy all the available existing space. Accordingly, the Working Party recommends
(Eleven) that in the short term a share of the existing buildings on the Walton Street side of the Radcliffe Infirmary site be allocated as flexible, short-tenancy space for the Biological Sciences.
The aspirations of Kellogg College are closely linked to those of the Department of Continuing Education and together would have needed the allocation of the whole of the listed building complex. The Working Party feels that the needs of Continuing Education/Kellogg College cannot be met on this site, but it makes recommendations elsewhere in this report.
Somerville College wishes to acquire a small strip of land to improve access to the buildings on its northern boundary. The Working Party considers that this improvement in access can be provided through the University's site without transfer of land but recognises the College's desire to get the main boiler house moved from alongside its northern boundary.
Green College wishes to expand onto the Radcliffe Infirmary site in order to improve its facilities. The Working Party believes that the quadrangle incorporating the nurses accommodation and the chapel does not lend itself to functional use and might be sold to the College, subject to confirmation that the space is not required for the faculty centres. The main access to the site off the Woodstock Road passes between the existing curtilage of Green College and this area of the Infirmary site. The Working Party recommends
(Twelve) that the Nurses Home quadrangle of the Radcliffe Infirmary be sold to Green College if not needed for University use but that it should be made a condition of acquisition that the access to Woodstock Road should remain open.
The Oxford University Press submitted a proposal to expand across the road from its main site by constructing an office block of about 3,000m2 to house around 200 staff. The Press anticipated that this would meet its needs for space for 10--15 years , after which it would be have to move outside central Oxford. The Working Party does not foresee an immediate requirement for the University to develop the south-west corner of the Radcliffe Infirmary site (the present Ophthalmology Laboratory and Eye Hospital) and recommends
(Thirteen) if at the time of acquisition the Press has a need for extra space, it be allowed to develop the south west corner of the Radcliffe Infirmary site on the understanding that it is for a limited period, after which the building would revert to the University.
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(i) The creation of free space on the central site can only be achieved by moving out those activities which do not need to be there. The Working Party identifies these as being the conservation, acquisitions and cataloguing sections of the Bodleian Library. Bodley's Librarian (and subsequently the Director of Library Services) also believes that there is scope for relocating some of its special collections. Furthermore, the proposed move of the History Faculty and Library will release the old Indian Institute building. As stated in the previous section, it is recommended that the Bodleian Library be invited to put forward proposals for the use of the old Indian Institute. The Working Party recognizes the difficulties in dividing books between research and undergraduate libraries. It is also conscious of important issues of reader convenience. Nonetheless, it believes that as much as possible of the Camera should be emptied in favour of faculty libraries in order to provide new space for the Bodleian Library. It is clear that the growth of book stock and greater intensity of use will increase the need for more book storage as close as possible to central Oxford. The Working Party recommends
(Fourteen) that the University should actively consider its long term policy for book storage and examine where any new storage should be sited.
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(Fifteen) that the Director of Library Services be invited to come forward with proposals for using Ewert Place to improve library services and to release space in the New Bodleian building for other uses by the relocation of library support facilities.
The Working Party believes that the space freed in the New Bodleian Building by moving elements of the Bodleian Library to Ewert House should be used to create a centre for research in the Humanities. This would have a double function. On the one hand, it would provide space for researchers and research groups on a short-term basis, thus offering a base in which new initiatives could begin. On the other hand, some reading rooms could be turned to providing desks or carrels bookable on, for example, a daily basis for members of the English and History Faculties needing a desk close to the Bodleian Library. This could help to reduce pressure on the reading rooms in the Old Bodleian. The Working Party recognizes that the management and funding of such a facility requires consideration by the General Board. It also recognizes that there are significant issues of security and fire precautions to be addressed. However, it believes that there are great gains in terms of the flexible short-tenancy space for small groups and new enterprises that is so lacking in the Humanities area in the University and therefore recommends
(Sixteen) that a Centre be created in the New Bodleian Library building to provide short term accommodation for new developments in the Humanities.
The Bodleian Library occupies most of the Clarendon Building and, as this building is in the centre of the Bodleian Library central site group, the Working Party considers that it should remain predominantly for library use. Accordingly it recommends
(Seventeen) that the Clarendon Building, less the Delegates Room and other rooms required for ceremonial use, be allocated to the Libraries Committee.
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(Eighteen) that the Old Boys' High School building be used to house the Philosophy Centre and Library.
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10 Merton Street is well-equipped to be a small faculty centre and library. The Working Party recognises the convenience of having the Theology Faculty near the theological institutions in St Giles', but sees no other sensible way of providing the Faculty with additional space in its present location. It recommends
(Nineteen) that 10 Merton Street be allocated to Theology as a Faculty Centre and Library.
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(i) The future use of the Mathematical Institute building is considered in the next section because of its proximity to the Keble Road Triangle and Science Area. Queen Elizabeth House is to be handed back to St John's in 2005 and the accommodation for International Studies is considered later.
(Twenty) that the present plan for the development of the Ashmolean/Taylorian north site should be amended in the light of the recommendations in this paper.
The Working Party notes that History of Art is looking to the proposed Visual Studies Centre to provide additional teaching and research space, some of which is currently being provided on a temporary basis at 59 George Street. The Department is also anxious to maintain a foothold near to the Ashmolean Museum and Sackler Library. If the Visual Studies Centre project is not realised, then the Working Party recommends
(Twenty-one) that the Department of the History of Art be moved to 43 St Giles and that History of Art's present space in Beaumont Street be allocated to Archaeology.
(Twenty-two) that the University seeks to purchase a suitable site in West Oxford and develop it for Continuing Education.
(Twenty-three) that Modern Languages remains in Wellington Square in the present Taylorian Annexe and that additional space is provided in Wellington Square from that to be released by the move of Continuing Education and by the planned move of Applied Social Studies to the St Cross site.
The Working Party recognises that the University offices in Wellington Square are presently over-crowded. It recognises also that the Central Administration may increase with the demands made upon it, though it notes the future organisation of the University now under debate may require less of the administrative activity to be centrally housed in Wellington Square. The Administration is currently allocated 4850m2 nett in the Wellington Square area and 600m2 nett of leased space in Oxenford House for the Development Office. As the Administration already has some space in Dartington House and there is a link through to the University Offices, the Working Party recommends
(Twenty-four) that, when Mathematics and International Development move from Dartington House, the remainder of this building should be allocated to Central Administration in order to bring the Development Office in to join the remainder of the Administration.
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(Twenty-five) the Station Forecourt site be purchased and allocated for the development of a building for Management Studies.
(Twenty-six) that the rebuild of Chemistry should proceed on its present sites plus that of the car park at 2--4 South Parks Road and that on completion Chemistry should release some of its existing space.
The recommendation that the Walton Street part of the Radcliffe Infirmary site for the long term development of Engineering and Materials does not release space in the Science area in the shorter term. The Working Party notes that there is the potential to provide some 25,000m2 of extra space in the areas reserved for the Biosciences and that further space will become available from the redevelopment of Chemistry. The Working Party recommends
(Twenty-seven) that the space to be vacated by Chemistry be kept as flexible and short-term space for developments in the Biosciences and that to be vacated in the long term by Engineering and Materials be kept for similar developments in Physical Sciences.
The Working Party supports the view of Mathematics that it needs to be consolidated onto a single site but remain close to the Science Area and to the Science developments recommended for the Radcliffe Infirmary site. In Recommendation 3 the Working Party supports the acquisition of sites to provide a link between the Science Area and the Radcliffe Infirmary. These sites could not be used for wet laboratories because of planning constraints. The Working Party therefore recommends
(Twenty-eight) that Mathematics, preferably including Statistics but not the Computing Laboratory, should be consolidated onto a single site in the general area between the present Science Area and the Radcliffe Infirmary.
The Working Party does not at this stage make any recommendations as to the future use of the present Mathematical Institute building but notes that it would provide suitable accommodation for a medium-sized arts or humanities faculty centre or institute.
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(Twenty-nine) that the International Development Centre be moved to the St Cross site when English moves out.
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The Working Party is acutely aware that this broad strategy is based upon premises and priorities which events and circumstances may well come to disrupt or modify. New research and teaching can produce new needs; changing patterns of funding can rearrange timetables. Nonetheless, the Working Party believes that its proposals are broad enough to incorporate change and flexible enough to accommodate innovation.
The strategy is ambitious though measured. It involves significant capital expenditure. Although that expenditure should be related to a twenty or twenty-five year period, it is true that some large items of expenditure must occur quite early in that period. It might seem unwise to adopt such a strategy at a time when the future funding of universities appears so uncertain. However, in light of the present situation of sites in Oxford and of the current patterns of change here, the Working Party believes that a bold strategy is the necessary condition of the University's health and development over the next two decades.
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(One) that the University continues to accord the highest priority to the acquisition of the whole Radcliffe Infirmary site. (Paragraph 3(i))
(Two) that the University seeks actively to constitute over time a landbank of strategic sites for its future expansion. (Paragraph 3 (ii))
(Three) that the University should seek to acquire sites between the Radcliffe Infirmary site and the Science Area. (Paragraph 3 (iii))
(Four) that in the event that the National Health Service disposes of its surplus land in Headington, the University should seek to acquire part for the expansion of medical research. (Paragraph 3 (v))
(Five) that the University proceeds actively to acquire sites to the west of the present perimeter towards the railway station and beyond, in collaboration with colleges owning property in this area. (Paragraph 3 (vi))
(Six) that the University should examine the possibility of acquiring development sites in North or West Oxford and retain them until the Radcliffe Infirmary site is secured. (Paragraph 3 (vii)
(Seven) that the listed buildings on the Radcliffe Infirmary site be converted to provide Faculty Centres for English and History with provision for their Faculty Libraries in an adjacent new building. (Paragraph 5 (iii))
(Eight) that the old Indian Institute be offered to the Bodleian Library, which should be invited to put forward proposals for using the building to improve library facilities and to release space in the New Bodleian building in accordance with the proposals that the Working Party makes for the central site. (Paragraph 5 (iii))
(Nine) that the Walton Street side of the Radcliffe Infirmary be designated as expansion space for Physical Sciences and more particularly for the long-term expansion and reprovision of Engineering and Materials (Paragraph 5 (iv) (c))
(Ten) that existing buildings on the Walton Street side of the Radcliffe Infimary site be allocated as flexible short-tenancy space for the Physical Sciences, as far as is compatible with recommendation Nine. (Paragraph 5 (iv) (c))
(Eleven) that in the short term a share of the existing buildings on the Walton Street side of the Radcliffe Infirmary site be allocated as flexible, short-tenancy space for the Biological Sciences. (Paragraph 5 (iv) (c))
(Twelve) that the Nurses Home quadrangle of the Radcliffe Infirmary be sold to Green College if not needed for University use but that it should be made a condition of acquisition that the access to Woodstock Road should remain open. (Paragraph 5 (v))
(Thirteen) if at the time of acquisition the Press has a need for extra space, it be allowed to develop the south west corner of the Radcliffe Infirmary site on the understanding that it is for a limited period, after which the building would revert to the University. (Paragraph 5 (v))
(Fourteen) that the University should actively consider its long term policy for book storage and examine where any new storage should be sited. (Paragraph 6 (i))
(Fifteen) that the Director of Library Services be invited to come forward with proposals for using Ewert Place to improve library services and to release space in the New Bodleian building for other uses by the relocation of library support facilities. (Paragraph 6 (iii))
(Sixteen) that a Centre be created in the New Bodleian Library building to provide short term accommodation for new developments in the Humanities. (Paragraph 6 (iii))
(Seventeen) that the Clarendon Building, less the Delegates Room and other rooms as required for ceremonial use, be allocated to the Libraries Committee. (Paragraph 6 (iii))
(Eighteen) that the Old Boysū High School building be used to house the Philosophy Centre and Library. (Paragraph 6 (iv))
(Nineteen) that 10 Merton Street be allocated to Theology as a Faculty Centre and Library. (Paragraph 6 (v))
(Twenty) that the present plan for the development of the Ashmolean/Taylorian north site should be amended in the light of the recommendations in this paper. (Paragraph 7 (ii))
(Twenty-one) that the Department of the History of Art be moved to 43 St Giles and that History of Artūs present space in Beaumont Street be allocated to Archaeology. (Paragraph 7 (ii))
(Twenty-two) that the University seeks to purchase a suitable site in West
Oxford and develop it for Continuing Education.
(Paragraph 7
(iii))
(Twenty-three) that Modern Languages remains in Wellington Square in the
present Taylorian Annexe and that additional space is provided in Wellington
Square from that to be released by the move of Continuing Education and by the
planned move of Applied Social Studies to the St Cross site.
(Paragraph 7
(iv))
(Twenty-four) that, when Mathematics and International Development move
from Dartington House, the remainder of this building should be allocated to
Central Administration in order to bring the Development Office in to join the
remainder of the Administration.
(Paragraph 7
(iv))
(Twenty-five) the Station Forecourt site be purchased and allocated for the
development of a building for Management Studies.
(Paragraph 8)
(Twenty-six) that the rebuild of Chemistry should proceed on its present
sites plus that of the car park at 2--4 South Parks Road and that on
completion Chemistry should release some of its existing space.
(Paragraph 9)
(Twenty-seven) that the space to be vacated by Chemistry be kept as
flexible and short-term space for developments in the Biosciences and that to
be vacated in the long term by Engineering and Materials be kept for similar
developments to Physical Sciences.
(Paragraph 9)
(Twenty-eight) that Mathematics, preferably including Statistics but not
the Computing Laboratory, should be consolidated onto a single site in the
general area between the present Science Area and the Radcliffe Infirmary
(Paragraph 9)
(Twenty-nine) that the International Development Centre be moved to the St.
Cross site when English moves out.
(Paragraph 10)
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The Working Party or its sub-groups had discussions with the following organisations and individuals (in chronological order).
Dr D.E. Olleson, Chairman of the Libraries Board
Sir Christopher Tickell, Warden of Green College
Principal
(Mrs C.E. Hughes) and Mrs M.T. Griffin, Somerville
College
President and Dr A.B. Hawkins, Kellogg College
Dr G.P. Thomas, Director of the Department for Continuing
Education
Professor M.L.H. Green, Chairman of the Inter-departmental
Committee for Chemistry
Professor R.E. Eatock-Taylor, acting Head of the Department of
Engineering Science
Mr R.C. Boning and Mr C.K. Hall, Oxford University Press
Mr D.G. Vaisey, Bodley's Librarian
Dr V.A. Gillespie, Chairman of the English Faculty Board
Dr D.G. Pattison, Chairman of the Modern Languages Faculty Board
Mrs R.G. Lewis, Chairman of the History Faculty Library Committee
Sir John Elliott, Chairman of Modern History Faculty Board
Professor J.A.D. Welsh, Chairman of Mathematics Institute
Dr P.J. Collins, Chairman of the Mathematical Sciences Faculty
Board
Mr R.P. Carr, Director of University Library Services and
Bodley's Librarian
Professor D.W. Clarke, Head of Engineering Science
Professor B. Cantor, Head of Materials
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