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Our new campus – an engine of growth

Working with partners to create a new future for Gloucester

Bringing an iconic Gloucester building back to life

In March 2021, University of Gloucestershire announced it had bought Gloucester’s Debenhams building. The aim: to enable its ambitious plans for growth and to work with partners to create a new future for Gloucester.

This iconic building will be brought back to life as a vibrant campus in the heart of the city – a modern centre for teaching, learning and community partnerships.

The graduates we train there will go into jobs that are crucial to the future of our region. It will provide new opportunities for the people who live here and attract new talent.

Over the lifetime of the project, it is estimated that the Gloucester campus project will add over £700 million of direct and indirect value to the economy.
CGI of City Campus

The University’s construction partner, the Morgan Sindall Group, is working alongside the multi-disciplined design team led by ADP Architecture to bring the University’s vision for the new campus to life.

The development of this 20,000m2 building will place University of Gloucestershire right at the heart of its community, creating a vibrant hub of new activity in Kings Square.

Shared public access facilities are set to include a new Health, Arts and Wellbeing Centre in partnership with the NHS Integrated Care Board, a new public library in partnership with Gloucestershire County Council and a cafe.

CGI interior shot of City Campus social / learning space.
CGI interior shot of City Campus cafe.

The ground floor will also host business engagement activity and a student-led Law Clinic, offering opportunities for training, events and incubation, as well as free legal advice to people in the city centre.

The phased opening of these new facilities is set to begin in 2025, when the first staff and students will also start to access teaching there. The new campus will build on the University’s proud heritage in teacher training, becoming an Institute for Education, and also be home to students and staff from Psychology and Social Work.

Cutting-edge facilities will include simulation spaces equipped with video link, where students will be able observe fellow students teaching in a mock classroom, an immersive Virtual Reality room, and an Electroencephalogram (EEG) lab where students can learn about the naturally occurring electric activity taking place in the brain, and monitor how it is affected by various tasks, conditions and other factors. There will also be science and computer labs, an Education Art Studio and design and technology lab.

Building a new future for an area that has been in long term decline, the new campus is part of a wider £200 million regeneration of this part of the city together with partners Gloucester City Council and the Reef Group.

The redevelopment of King’s Square is already complete, and The Forum is nearby, a private investment designed to attract specialised digital and technology companies and a thousand new jobs. Together with the Forge Digital Hub, an innovation hub for cyber businesses which is part of The Forum, the Gloucester campus project is the centrepiece of Gloucester’s successful £20 million bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

“Having the teachers, psychologists and social workers of the future being trained in the heart of the city presents a unique opportunity for strengthening our community connections, through placements, research and outreach activity. We’re proud to be playing a leading role in the regeneration of Gloucester; providing improved access to services and the University for local people, and delivering an excellent student and staff experience.”

Clare Marchant, University of Gloucestershire Vice-Chancellor

Head and shoulders portrait photograph of Clare Marchant, University of Gloucestershire Vice Chancellor

Keep up to date with progress

Below, you’ll find our blog posts tracking the progress of this project.

There are also links to documents that provide supporting information regarding the work being undertaken.

Supporting documents