Wolverhampton landmark to vanish and Telford campus to close in radical university shake-up
One of Wolverhampton's most familiar landmark's will disappear from the skyline as part of a radical shake-up of the university.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Under the development plan, the university's School of Art - a nine-story Brutalist concrete building on the junction of the Ring Road St Peters and Stafford Street - will be demolished, while the sports centre on the opposite side of the ring road will become a new medical school.
The university's campus at Priorslee, Telford, will also close next year after 32 years in the town.
In the longer term, there is an ambition to build a tunnel over the Wolverhampton ring road, linking the university's sites in Molineux Street and Wulfruna Street with a garden area.
Prof Ebrahim Adia, vice-chancellor of the university, said medical students would begin their studies in the city in September 2026, in a move that will link it with local hospitals including New Cross.
He hopes the reshaping will make the university more efficient as it seeks to attract 5,000 extra students from overseas.
The Shropshire site, now known at Telford Innovation Campus, opened at Priorslee Hall in 1994. Previously the home of Telford Development Corporation, it hosts engineering and nursing courses.
The engineering department will move to Wolverhampton, while the nursing students will be split between Wolverhampton and the university's campus in Walsall.
No decision has yet been made on the future of the Telford site, which was previously home to Telford Development Corporation.
Prof Adia said: "The university is at an exciting point in its near 200-year history as it pivots to growth by attracting thousands more students to Wolverhampton from the UK and internationally.
"This provides the perfect context to review the university estate and ensure it is fit for purpose and able to deliver a high-quality environment for our students, staff and the wider community."
Prof Adia said the university's estates had an excess capacity of 30 per cent, and the efficiency savings would allow resources to be better directed.
"These costs are significant and could, and arguably should, be spent to improve the student experience, protect jobs, enhance staff welfare and invest in key strategic growth projects whilst creating more connected, cohesive, vibrant campuses and a sustainable financial future for the university," he said.
"That is what we intend to achieve."
The development has been welcomed by Wolverhampton Council leader Councillor Stephen Simkins.
“We welcome the university’s plans to bring more students to its city centre campus which can only be good news for the city," he said.
“Plans for a new medical school will bring even more people into Wolverhampton which supports our plans to create a more vibrant city centre for people to visit and complements the planned opening of the new City Learning Quarter later this year."
