Reports

First-stage Report of the Council on the development of the Greenwich House site

The Council begs leave to report to the University as follows:

1. In this Report the Council is seeking approval in principle for the development of the Greenwich House site as set out below.

2. Greenwich House is situated on Madingley Rise. It was constructed in the 1980s and is typical of office developments of the time. The South Wing of the main building is currently occupied by the Finance Division of the Unified Administrative Service (UAS). The North Wing, which is currently vacant, was previously occupied by the Management Information Services Division, prior to its co-location with the University Computing Service in the Roger Needham Building and the subsequent merger of the two organizations to form the University Information Services. In addition there is an annex to the building which has been leased to Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) and will be vacated in January 2015.

3. In recent years the UAS has begun to consolidate its activities on three main sites: the Old Schools (the principal administrative functions of the University), Greenwich House (the operational administrative hub), and the New Museums site (the plans for a student-facing building with co-located services and functions will be the subject of a separate Report). This approach has financial benefits from the disposal of accommodation previously used for various UAS functions across the estate, and recurrent savings in maintenance and utility costs. Moreover, co-location will bring clear benefits in terms of service delivery and improved working efficiency.

4. At their meeting on 25 June 2014, the Planning and Resources Committee endorsed a strategic estate plan for the UAS which outlined a series of proposed relocations of space and refurbishments that will come forward as individual projects through the normal University approvals process.

5. It is proposed that the North Wing of Greenwich House, together with the annex, be redeveloped to provide modern, mainly open-plan office accommodation for a number of UAS units, including the following identified in the UAS strategic estate plan as candidates for relocation to new space on that site: Estate Management Division, Research Operations Office, the University Biomedical Support Services, and sections of HR Division including Recruitment Services, Grading and Reward, the Pensions Office, Personal and Professional Development, and the Safety Office. These moves will bring the total anticipated number of people working on the site to c. 400. The project will provide a total area of 4,239m², sufficient to provide desk space for all of the units identified above, together with shared meeting and training rooms, communal space, and other shared office facilities.

6. The refurbishment proposals are being developed so as to make the building as sustainable as possible within the constraints of the existing building and budget. These plans include installing new plant to maximize operational efficiency, installing LED luminaires with daylight dimming and movement activation, and installing photovoltaic and solar panels to offset electrical consumption and provide hot water for general use in the building. This will lead to a significant percentage decrease in running costs, energy consumption, and CO² emissions.

7. A concept paper for the project was approved by the Planning and Resources Committee on 15 October 2014. The current estimated cost of the project is £6.6m. Further details relating to the design, maintenance, recurrent costs, and funding arrangements will be brought to future meetings of the Buildings Committee and Planning and Resources Committee. A Second-stage Report will be published in due course to gain approval for implementation of the project.

8. A location plan of Greenwich House is shown below (see p. 66).

9. The Council recommends:

I. That approval in principle be given for the redevelopment works as outlined in this Report.

II. That the Director of Estate Strategy be authorized to apply for detailed planning approval in due course.

20 October 2014	L. K. Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor	Richard Jones	Rachael Padman
	N. Bampos	Fiona Karet	Shirley Pearce
	Jeremy Caddick	F. P. Kelly	John Shakeshaft
	Stephen J. Cowley	Mark Lewisohn	Jean Thomas
	Anne Davis	Rebecca Lingwood	Evianne van Gijn
	David Good	Mavis McDonald	I. H. White
	Helen Hoogewerf-McComb	Susan Oosthuizen	A. D. Yates
	Andy Hopper

Greenwich House Site Plan