Oxstalls Development - Residents' FAQs - Overview - University of Gloucestershire
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Oxstalls Development – Residents’ FAQs
Overview
• The University of Gloucestershire
The University of Gloucestershire has over 10,000 students, nearly 1,600 staff, and is situated across
three campuses in Gloucester and Cheltenham, a Student Village at Pittville and an enterprise hub
(C11) at Berkeley. The University generates an income of over £80m a year from sources including
tuition, research grants and professional services. Of this income, over £40m is spent on staff pay and
benefits, training, and subsistence, with the remaining spend covering predominantly local activities,
including the University’s estate, marketing, and telecommunications.
Although the University is one of the UK’s newest universities (having achieved university status in
2001) its origins date back over 150 years to the church foundation of teacher education colleges and
the Mechanic’s Institutes movement of the Victorian period. Building on these roots the University
has been able to develop distinctive strengths in areas such as learning, teaching, and sustainability.
The University has been training teachers since 1847 and Ofsted has rated its primary school training
provision ‘outstanding’.
Campus Re-Development
• Why the University of Gloucestershire is redeveloping Oxstalls?
The University has decided to move its Business School from Cheltenham to Gloucester. This is in
order that the Business School can be fully integrated with an enhanced Growth Hub at Oxstalls
Campus. The moving of the Business School to an improved Oxstalls Campus in Gloucester is a key
part of the strategy that will allow the Business School to expand student numbers and extend its
operations. Capital investment amounting to £20m in total is planned for the development.
Business Schools across the UK have often been criticised for producing graduates that are not ‘career
ready’ because of a failure to integrate learning with practical engagement. The University of
Gloucestershire’s firm belief is that that the Business School can gain a distinctive reputation by
developing graduates that are more ‘career ready’ than those of other business schools. This will be
achieved through integrating the Business School with the Growth Hub; this will create a high level
of business engagement and interaction so that students can develop practical experience alongside
their formal learning.
• Why not develop campuses in Cheltenham instead?
The University is bringing its Business School and the Growth Hub, which we established in
partnership with the Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, together in one location. This
ambition was first set out in the Strategic Economic Plan for Gloucestershire, drawn up by the
Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership in 2013/14. Linking the Business School with the Growth
Hub means we will be able to provide better support for businesses in Gloucester and
Gloucestershire, with Business School staff and students working directly with businesses to help
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Pagethem grow. The Growth Hub is already located here in Gloucester at the Oxstalls Campus, and there
is greater opportunity to develop the Business School/Growth Hub in Gloucester.
• Oxstalls Campus impact on the local economy?
The redevelopment of the Oxstalls Campus is a crucial element of the University of Gloucestershire’s
plan to continue to be a leading contributor to Gloucester’s economic prosperity. In particular, the
redevelopment will secure the following benefits:
o Greater student impact on the local economy – the move of the Business School to
Gloucester will result in an immediate increase in the number of students studying in
Gloucester. The University’s current intention is that the Business School should
expand to some 2,000 students over the next five years. All of those would be new to
Gloucester. In conjunction with the improvements to the sports facilities (bringing in
additional athletes to the Oxstalls Campus) and investment in the Growth Hub (which
will increase the contribution the University makes to local businesses) the
redevelopment of Oxstalls is estimated to contribute tens of millions of pounds of
economic benefit annually to Gloucester and support thousands of jobs within the
locality.
o More direct investment by the University in Gloucester – the redevelopment involves
significant capital investment by the University directly into the Oxstalls Campus and
the Plock Court sports facilities; this will also achieve wider regeneration impact,
particularly through the proposed inclusion of student accommodation within the
regeneration of the Blackfriars/Quayside site in central Gloucester. This investment
will utilise local and national supply chains resulting in further increases to the GVA
impact of the University of Gloucestershire and support more local jobs.
o Diversifying and strengthening the Gloucester job market – through growing student
numbers, the redevelopment of Oxstalls will ultimately support a larger institution.
This will increase employment directly and also indirectly through local staff
expenditure. By increasing the number of well-trained graduates, this project will also
give businesses in Gloucester more opportunities to recruit the staff they require.
• How many students currently study at Oxstalls campus?
1800 HESA Standard Registration Population are enrolled on taught and research programmes based
at Oxstalls.
• What courses are currently studies at Oxstalls?
Courses within the Schools of Sport, Liberal and Performing Arts, Events Management and Nursing.
• What are the campus opening hours?
Oxstalls campus has students living within halls of residence, so is a 24 hour campus, but peak periods
are during standard lecture times run from 9.15am until 6pm.
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Page• What is the Growth Hub?
The Growth Hub is a partnership between the University of Gloucestershire and the Local
Enterprise Partnership. It supports local businesses and helps them maximise their potential.
They help connect businesses together, source funding, develop staff and break into new
markets.
• Why is the Growth Hub expanding?
Expansion of the Growth Hub will ensure that the strong engagement already achieved between
the Growth Hub and the businesses of Gloucester and the wider county continues and grows to
support the levels of success for high value business outlined in the Gloucestershire Strategic
Economic Plan. This expanded Growth Hub will transform the way the University and its Business
School engage with local business.
With higher education at its core, the Growth Hub will be the central location for delivering and
coordinating a wide range of knowledge exchange and business services for Gloucestershire. This
will include innovation and research, business support networks, strategy and advisory services,
business information and networking, CPD and work-based training, applied consultancy and
business development, and enterprise support.
Business School
• How big is the building?
The Business School / Growth Hub is 5350m2. This is smaller than the outlined planning permission
of 10,000m2.
• Why is the new building smaller than the original plans?
Currently, there is no requirement for a larger Business School building so the expansion plans have
been phased.
• How many additional students will there be on the campus?
The University’s aim is to have an additional 2000 students studying at the Oxstalls campus in the
new Business School.
• What courses will now be taught at Oxstalls?
Courses including: Business and Management, Accounting, Marketing, International Business Studies
and Law.
• Can we go inside the Business School to have a look around?
The University is happy to organise for residents to tour the new building. Please email
engagement@glos.ac.uk or call 01252 714516 to make arrangements.
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PageFlooding and Drainage
• What flood alleviation has taken place when building the new Business School?
During the application process the University appointed expert flooding and drainage consultants
(Glanville) to provide technical advice on flooding issues. They carried out detailed technical studies
(Flood Risk Assessment) in this regard.
o The site is located within a mix of Flood Zones 1, 2 and 3 with land located in Flood
Zone 1 considered to be at low risk of flooding and land in Flood Zone 3 considered at
high risk. Flood risk therefore varies across the site.
o Modelled flood levels from the Environment Agency ensured that due consideration
was given to ensure that more vulnerable development (i.e. new buildings) are located
in areas considered at lower risk of flooding.
o Proposed buildings are constructed with ground floor levels set at least 300mm above
the modelled 1:100yr flood level with an allowance made for climate change.
• What about the water displacement from the building and new carparks?
Ponds and wetland areas are being constructed behind the Business School building to provide
additional flood plain and surface water storage, in combination with creating biodiversity and
amenity benefits.
Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) will be utilised to drain surface water from the
development. Porous paving has been used to provide additional surface water storage, remove
contaminants and improve water quality.
• Wotton Brook is not in a good state. Will the Business School make this worse?
Selective maintenance works have already been carried out to the banks of the Brook, and the
University will continue to keep clear and maintain the section of the brook that runs through the
campus. The planning application did not provide for significant changes to the Brook, which
would require approval from the Environment Agency. Additional shrub planting along the
brook will improve the water retention of the ground.
• Will the proposed additional car parking make the flooding situation worse?
Glanville have carried out detailed technical studies with regards to flooding. From the assessments
a strategy has been put together. It is concluded the risk of flooding will not increase as a result of
the proposals.
• We already have problems with the sewers, will the sewage system capacity be properly
assessed?
Planning consent included a utility and energy statement, by Forge Engineering, who have explored
and considered a variety of networks, including water supply and sewage, to ensure that enough
capacity is present and no problems would be introduced.
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PageTraffic Impact
• Transport impact of Oxstalls Developments
The development planning applications were supported by a full Transport Assessment in accordance
with Department for Transport guidance.
Improvements are being delivered to the Oxstalls Campus access off Oxstalls Lane and the adjacent
Cheltenham Road / Oxstalls Lane highways junction as a condition of planning consent to create
additional junction capacity to offset the impact of a fully developed Business School of 10,000 sqm.
As we are only building 5,350sqm in the first phase, the full traffic impact of the approved
development will occur only after completion of a subsequent Phase 2, for which there are no
immediate plans. So the design of the road improvements now being constructed will be more than
sufficient to accommodate the estimated impact of the Business School.
Traffic and parking surveys were undertaken in 2015 at various locations around Oxstalls Campus and
wider area.
One of the requirements of the planning approval is that the University should carry out a further
review of local traffic and parking in the vicinity within 3 months following completion of the new
Business School in order to identify any problems at an early stage and allow an assessment of
options and mitigation measures that may be needed. The University is fully committed to carrying
out that review at the right time, as required by the planning condition.
• What steps has the University taken?
The University’s Travel Plan will be updated to reflect the growth in staff and student numbers as a
result of the development. It will encourage sustainable journeys, with an emphasis on reducing car
use.
Pedestrian and cycle links between the University campus and sports facilities are being improved
and the public rights of way through the campus are being upgraded.
The University will continue to fund a subsidised bus service, provided by Stagecoach, to promote
bus use by students and staff travelling to the Oxstalls campus.
• Can you open up the rear access to the Campus to reduce congestion?
Yes possibly but this would require the support of local Councillors as part of an agreed approach
with the community. When that option was first mooted, it was not favoured as part of the overall
package approved by the Highways Authority. . Making more intensive use of the rear access would
impact on traffic in that immediate vicinity and may not improve traffic flow.
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PageParking
• What is the carpark capacity at Oxstalls?
Currently, there are 288 car parking spaces on Oxstalls campus, plus 30 temporary spaces. There are
currently 130 at Plock Court.
Once the development is complete there will be 301 additional spaces across both sites: an additional
181 on Oxstalls campus and an additional 130 at Plock Court.
This will take the capacity of both sites to 589.
• What is the current car parking charging regime at Oxstalls campus and what is the annual
income raised?
Parking at the University is currently charged at £1.50 per day, pay and display. Student permits are
available at a cost of £50 per annum (blue badge holders are free of charge). Staff permits are
available at a cost of between £50 and £150 per annum, depending on salary.
Annual income from parking charges is approximately £120,000 and represents around 65% of our
expenditure on subsidised bus travel for our staff and students. The University needs to charge for
the use of car parking, because otherwise we could not afford the subsidy to the bus service.
• Students parking on residential roads
We recognise that parking remains a sensitive issue for local residents.
If cars are parked legally, albeit making the roads busy, and the cars do not belong to students in our
halls we have no real jurisdiction to ask them to not park on residential streets. Someof our students
will also be local residents, and students and staff have the same rights as every other road user to
park in unrestricted areas on the public highway. We do, however, always ask our staff and students
to park conscientiously.
If we can identify any student cars parking illegally, dangerously or blocking footpaths and if that is
the case we certainly take action.
If cars are parked illegally, the best course of action is for residents to report this to the police directly.
Meanwhile, if you have any concerns about inconsiderate parking which you believe involve students
or staff, you can contact the University’s community team by emailing community@glos.ac.uk or
calling (01242) 715100.
• Won’t the parking be really busy on Open Days and Applicant Days?
Many of our Open Days and Applicant Days occur at weekends when the majority of staff and
students are not at the campus. However, when Open Days/Applicant Days are held on weekdays,
we issue prior notification that the car park will be closed to staff and students (except blue badge
holders) to prioritise spaces for visiting prospective students and their families. In that event, we
make additional arrangements for staff and students to park off site in a temporary car park for that
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day.
Page• Was a parking survey carried out?
Parking surveys carried out as part of the planning application revealed that there were 1041
potential parking spaces on residential streets within a reasonable walking distance of the campus
with around 20% of them occupied at peak times. So the survey evidence demonstrated that there
is substantial headroom within the available parking capacity in the local area.
• Can we have Controlled Parking Zones (permit / yellow lines, etc)?
It would in principle be possible to introduce Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ) in order to regulate
parking on the designated streets such that only residents with parking permits would be able to
park. However, it is not clear that there is a consensus amongst local residents that that is what they
want. The introduction of a CPZ would mean that residents’ guests and visitors would not have so
much access to free parking. One of the conditions attached to the University’s planning permission
requires further survey work to be undertaken some months after the Business School opens, so that
real evidence can be collected about the actual impact of the new developments on traffic flows and
parking capacity. If, in the light of that new evidence, there is a consensus amongst local residents
that they do want a CPZ, that option can be pursued.
Sports Facilities at Plock Court
Overview
The new sports facilities at Plock Court will be available for dual university and community use. The
facilities extend the existing eight court Oxstalls Indoor Tennis Centre and all weather pitch es
operated by Aspire Sports and Cultural Trust and the grass playing fields owned by Gloucester City
Council and managed by Amey.
The new facilities include two 3G all-weather sports training pitches (one for rugby, one football), a
a multi use sports centre with an eventual capacity of 750 seats and a new cricket pavilion, training
nets and upgraded crease.
• What events will be held at the sports centre?
The highest profile events planned for the new sports centre are 6 Severn Stars home netball fixtures,
which regularly attract crowds of several hundred. In addition, the University will use the facilities for
training and BUCS matches (Wednesday afternoons) and will occasionally hold university events in
the centre.
In the evenings and at weekends, the sports centre will be available for local residents to make
community sporting bookings.
• How often will there be events in the evenings?
There will be regular community evening bookings and occasional (7-10 times per year) university
event bookings, this includes Severn Stars fixtures.
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Page• Will the events be noisy?
Any noise generated will be within strict limits established by the planning conditions and
additionally, acoustic barriers have been installed to reduce any noise transfer.
• Can the public book the sports facilities?
Yes, through Aspire Leisure and Cultural Trust (based at Plock Court) for the main facilities and
through Amey for any use of pitches on the Plock Court playing fields.
• Will the community facilities be improved?
The community will be able to use all of the new facilities. The developments are designed to
enhance the Plock Court area. At present, the grass playing fields are not maintained and used as
well as they could be and the University and Aspire are developing a programme for improving over
time the standard of the grass pitches. This will mean that more people are able to gain enjoyment
and benefit from Plock Court.
On Plock Court a brand new cricket pavilion accompanies a replenished and improved cricket pitch.
Junction
• Overview
The junction investment will address existing congestion problems and accommodate traffic
generated by the Oxstalls development.
• What is involved?
The junction will be widened to allow left slip lanes into and out of Oxstalls Lane as well as two lanes
of traffic heading into Gloucester. Existing traffic lights and pedestrian crossings will be replaced.
• Why is it taking so long to improve the junction?
It will take some time to implement because we have to ensure that traffic can keep flowing while
each stage of the work is undertaken. Due to the complexity of delivering the improvements to the
Cheltenham Road/Oxstalls Lane junction, far beyond what was anticipated when we received outline
planning consent, the improvements are now scheduled to complete in spring 2019.
• Won’t the traffic be really bad?
The junction works are phased to improve the flow of traffic to help reduce the impact of the work
on local traffic. This is a reason that the works have increased in cost and duration.
• Are any other design options possible?
We carried out some work to consider alternative designs for the junction. The complexity is caused
by the fact that there is a large number of BT cables and other utilities running underground in the
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area of the junction improvements which will have to be moved in order to widen the junctions.
PageWe looked at a design option that would be less disruptive to the BT and other utilities in the vicinity.
However, modelling of traffic flows concluded that this alternative design would be a less favourable
option for our neighbours and the wider Gloucester community, because it would not be able to cope
with the same volume of traffic.
• What are the different phases of the work and when do they start?
Date Works Notes
26/03/18 Utility works commenced
03/04/18 Civil works in area 1A (reduce dig, re-locate BT Duration of works 149 days
ducting, drainage, tarmac, white lines)
10/05/18 Civil works in area 1B (reduce dig, connecting Duration of works 229 days
new manholes, Island works, BT cabinet
removal, drainage, tarmac, white lines)
15/10/18 Civil works in area 2 (reduce dig, re-locate BT Duration of works 22 days
ducting, drainage, tarmac, white lines)
29/10/18 Civil works in area 3 (reduce dig, re-locate BT Duration of works 77 days
ducting, drainage, tarmac, white lines)
27/02/19 Civil works in area 3 (reduce dig, re-locate BT Duration of works 35 days
ducting, drainage, tarmac, white lines)
16/04/19 Overall works complete
Note: Phases of civil works may overlap and timeframes are purely indicative. The programme is
dependent upon weather conditions, traffic management, attendance on site by statutory utility
companies and any unforeseen complexity of uncovered ‘buried services’.
• The pedestrian diversion is very long
The pedestrian diversion complies with Highways regulations. It is a longer route than the original
level crossing, but this is important for safety.
• Can the campus access improve?
The university has constructed an additional pedestrian entrance offering more direct access into the
campus from Cheltenham Road. This will help reduce the incidence of staff and students not using
the approved safe crossing points to access the campus.
• Can the campus exit be left turn only?
We have looked into this possibility, modelled it as an option, but believe that it may only transfer
traffic problems elsewhere and does not give as great an improvement in traffic flow as the approved
option which allows both left and right turns.
• Why weren’t we consulted when the bus stop moved?
The logistics with the buses are run by Stagecoach and Highways. The University of Gloucestershire
are not responsible for the bus stops moving location.
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PageBoundary Fence
• What are the university’s plans for the boundary fence adjacent to Oxstalls Way residents?
The university plans to install a new boundary fence in the future, although no timeline or design
have been set for this yet.
• I want to replace my fence now, is that possible?
Yes. At this point in time, the University is willing to part-fund up to 25% of the cost of replacing a
typical timber boarded fence ahead of the university’s plans, subject to sight of individual design and
quotations to reassure ourselves of the appropriateness of the cost.
Public Rights of Way
Overview
The university developments will open up the campus so that Public Rights of Way and cycle routes
are improved, links between the residential areas and the public sports facilities are enhanced, and
the whole site is made more accessible and enjoyable for the local community.
PROW past Business School
• Why is it closed for 6 months?
The signs displayed at the ends of the PROW indicate the maximum length of time that the University
have permission to close the PROW. This is a legal requirement and does not represent the actual
time that the work will take, or the PROW will be closed.
• When will it be complete?
These works are expected to complete by 20th July.
• What improvement will it make?
The works to the public right of way across the campus are currently underway to introduce safety
improvements where the path crosses the new planned vehicle access road leading to the new on-
site car park. The surface and landscaping of the path in the immediate vicinity will be improved.
• Why weren’t residents consulted?
Gloucestershire County Council is responsible for all statutory display notices as this PROW is part of
the highway and its closure is governed by the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Notices were erected
at each end of the closure. In addition, the university wrote to 2000 local residents with details of the
works in March 2018.
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PagePROW to Plock Court
Overview
The university will improve the existing public right of way to the west of, and the Sustrans /
pedestrian route, to the south of the allotments. A new footpath will be created to the north of the
allotments and run from the Oxstalls campus to Plock Court.
The works leading up to the Plock Court Sports Centre will include part surface upgrade, part new
footpath and new lighting along the route. This will create a better, safer pathway for all to use. We
will be submitting a planning application for the detailed design of the improvement work shortly.
Therefore, we expect to complete this just prior to September 2018 but we do not anticipate that
the works will take longer than 4-6 weeks to carry out.
• When will it be completed?
By September 2018
• Will it be lit?
Yes
• Will everyone be able to access it?
Yes
Debenhams Field
• When are you starting to build the halls of residence?
Although we have planning approval to construct new residences for 200 students on the Debenhams
Field, the University is not proposing to proceed with that construction in the short term. This is
because the University is already working with a development partner (Cityheart) to build 300
student bedrooms at the Blackfriars site in central Gloucester, which will be completed this summer,
with a further 200 student bedrooms at Blackfriars proposed for phase 2. This will provide an
increase in student accommodation that is sufficient to meet the University’s needs for the next
couple of years, without needing to commence construction on the Debenhams Field at this point.
• Are there covenants on the site meaning that it must be for sporting use only?
The University’s lawyers have advised that no covenants exist on the Debenhams field.
• If you aren’t building on the field, will you maintain it?
The field will be maintained for University use which will include grass cutting. The University will
also improve the security of the field to ensure that it remains available for continued unrestricted
use by students.
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Page• When will the pavilion be knocked down?
A new road access needs formed into the site. The pavilion will be demolished once this is
established.
• Why has there been a delay in constructing the access from Estcourt Close into the field?
As per the planning agreement with Gloucester City Council, the University of Gloucestershire’s
construction partner, EG Carter, will begin work to construct a new vehicle access gate into the field
beside Estcourt Close.
Our contractor, EG Carter, has informed us that once Skanska (the statutory authority responsible
for replacing the street light) began their element of works it was discovered that the existing light
column features a lead connection. This will need to be removed and replaced by Western Power
before the new street light can be made live and it could take several weeks to get Western Power
to site to undertake this work.
We have, therefore, decided to postpone the entire project including the pavilion demolition to allow
us to undertake all works as one phase which minimises disturbance to residents.
Blackfriars Halls of Residence
Overview
A brand new development - Blackfriars Residences - will be opening in September 2018 for University
of Gloucestershire students.
A combination of accommodation types will be available within the development, including: en-suite
rooms in cluster flats, townhouses offering great communal spaces and self-contained studios.
The site is located in the historical Gloucester city centre, close to the main shops and restaurants
and a 25 minute walk to the Oxstalls campus. Regular buses will be available from the city centre to
the campus.
• When will they open?
September 2018
• How many students will there be?
This new accommodation will host nearly 300 rooms for new and returning students in phase 1. The
development will be managed by Cityheart in partnership with the university. The original outline
planning application for the Blackfriars site envisaged a second phase to add a further 200 bedrooms.
Cityheart are developing detailed plans and timings for that second phase, that will be submitted to
the City Council for approval.
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PageCommunications
• Where can I find out more?
Latest residents’ information is published on our dedicated Oxstalls development webpages at
glos.ac.uk/growinggloucester.
To contact the University of Gloucestershire’s community engagement team please call on 01242
714516 or email engagement@glos.ac.uk.
• What other residents’ communication does the University undertake?
We produce and deliver monthly construction newsletters for our neighbours. In addition, we
produce an annual newsletter which is delivered widely around Oxstalls with news from the
University of Gloucestershire and contact details for key contacts.
We hold regular meetings with local councillors and residents associations to discuss any matters of
concern.
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