First-stage Report of the Council on the construction of a new building for the study of plant diversity and development

The COUNCIL beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The Council have received a proposal from the School of Biological Sciences for the construction of a new building for the study of plant diversity and development. The proposal has been considered in outline by the Buildings Committee and the Planning and Resources Committee who have recommended that the Council seek approval in principle for construction of the new building. The General Board have considered the academic implications of the proposal and have given their support.

2. The study of plant development is being transformed by the new scientific and technical resources becoming available to biologists. These include high volume DNA sequencing, novel methods for imaging living materials, increasingly sophisticated genetic tools, and refined chemical methods. Together these provide the opportunity to obtain an integrated understanding of plant development and plant diversity. They set the stage for a new synthesis that will draw on molecular, cellular, whole plant, and population biology to elucidate how organisms are constructed and to shed new light on the evolution and significance of biological diversity

3. A substantial offer of funding has been made to the University by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. The Foundation has indicated that it is willing to provide the full costs of planning, design, and construction of a building of some 6,000 sq.m. and will fund the research on a five-year rolling basis, including the core costs of running and maintaining the building.

4. The most appropriate site within the University has been identified as in the Botanic Garden, but this will require some relocation of existing facilities to create space for the new building. The proposed site as shown in the accompanying site plan on p. 886 is embedded in the existing private, research part of the Garden and so will be close to the laboratories and Departments on the Downing and Lensfield Road sites. The research facility will require a building of special quality and there will be a number of important planning issues to work through with care. The building is likely to occupy only part of the site marked on the plan.

5. The new building will accommodate laboratories, plant growth facilities, offices, and support facilities. It will also incorporate the University's project for a new Herbarium, which had already been under discussion for this location and has planning permission.

6. Further details relating to the design, maintenance, and recurrent costs, with proposals for funding, will be brought to a future meeting of the Planning and Resources Committee, and a further Report will be published in due course.

7. The Council recommend:

I. That approval in principle be given for the construction of a new building at the Botanic Garden as proposed in this Report.

II. That the Director of Estate Management and Building Service be authorized to apply for detailed Planning Approval in due course.

The plan of the site is available to download as a PDF:

•  Plan of the proposed site for the new Plant Diversity Institute