Reports

First-stage Report of the Council on the alteration and refurbishment of the Stirling Building on the Sidgwick 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 alteration and refurbishment of the Stirling Building on the Sidgwick site as set out below.

2. The building, which is Grade II* listed, was designed by James Stirling and completed in 1968. It currently accommodates the Faculty of History and the Seeley Library, which hosts library collections for History, Land Economy, Latin American Studies, Politics and International Studies, and Sociology. A plan showing the location of the building is provided below (p. 730).

3. There is an urgent need to refurbish the building since it is likely to become unsafe for occupation within the next few years. The environmental performance of the building is poor, particularly in extremely hot or cold conditions, and many spaces within the building are problematic from the point of view of accessibility and basic efficiency. The building occupies a central position at the heart of the Sidgwick site and the required refurbishment introduces an opportunity to sensitively alter the building so that it provides excellent space for its current users and for a much wider community of students and staff from across the Schools of Arts and Humanities and the Humanities and Social Sciences.

4. The budget for the project is £78.4m at RIBA Stage 3. A further £5.3m is likely be required to meet the costs of decanting the Faculty of History and the Seeley Library for the duration of the building works. The Seeley Library will be temporarily relocated to dedicated space in the West Room at the University Library. Some of the Faculty’s activities will be hosted in other buildings on the Sidgwick site, some of the teaching will be accommodated at nearby Colleges, with the remainder of the Faculty’s activities likely to be located in a temporary building on the Sidgwick site; these arrangements will be finalised as part of the Full Business Case.

5. An Outline Business Case for the project was approved by the Planning and Resources Committee in June 2024. A Full Business Case will be prepared and a Second-stage Report will be published in due course to seek approval for implementation of the project.

6.The Council recommends:

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

II.That the Director of Estates be authorised to apply for detailed planning approval in due course.

2 July 2024

Location of the Stirling Building on the Sidgwick site

First-stage Report of the Council on a new temporary facility for the Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus

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

1. In this Report the Council is seeking approval in principle for the submission of a full planning application for a new temporary modular building on the Forvie site at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC) to accommodate the Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory (MICL).

2. The project outlined in this Report (‘Temporary building for the MICL’) will replace the MICL’s current accommodation with temporary accommodation in advance of a longer-term move in the future.

3. The School of Clinical Medicine has a strategic plan, based on its existing strengths in radiochemistry and positron emission tomography (PET), to create an internationally leading centre for molecular imaging on the CBC. The MICL is a dedicated preclinical facility for researchers from across the University to undertake research in the discovery, development and clinical translation of novel radiotracers for the biomedical technique of PET. It is a key component of the integrated PET imaging infrastructure.

4. The current accommodation for the MICL in the West Forvie Building (WFB) on the Forvie site is extremely unsatisfactory for a number of reasons:

(a)Much of the Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health (MEPH) infrastructure is beyond or approaching the end of its life expectancy and at risk of operational failure and/or regulatory non-compliance with Environment Agency and other statutory quality and safety standards. If the MEPH failed, all experimental procedure, especially radiochemical procedure, would have to stop. This would risk serious disruption to the MICL and its research capabilities. If regulatory compliance failed, certain research activities, which support a number of Departments, may have to cease.

(b)The building is ranked number one across the University’s estate in the prioritisation list for the Decarbonising Heat Programme. As this programme gains momentum, there is likely to be increasing pressure to find a way to address the carbon emissions of the WFB.

(c)Without significant alteration the building will not be able to accommodate new equipment and does not have the capacity for expansion of research programmes. For example, the MICL has identified the need for a new dedicated mini cyclotron, which would enable it to have more regular access to – and a wider range of – radioisotopes, and avoid the need to transfer the radioisotopes batches from the Radiopharmaceutical Unit (RPU) facility that is situated within the basement of the nearby Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre (WBIC) and reaching its operational maximum.

(d)The building does not provide an environment that is conducive to positive staff and student well-being. The WFB once housed biomedical facilities now relocated to the Anne McLaren Building and the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre. The MICL is therefore now the last remaining facility in a building that is otherwise empty in preparation for demolition. The poor working environment is impacting the retention and recruitment of staff to the MICL to support its research programmes.

5. Work started on a project (MICL 2) to provide long-term alternative accommodation for the MICL and proposals for a new, mixed commercial and academic building on the Forvie site were drawn-up. However, since then, other matters have intervened, forcing a rethink of the project and delays to the development of plans for a longer-term solution. These matters include the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within the West Forvie Building, which necessitated propping, further compromising an already poor working environment.

6. In December 2023, the Estates Committee endorsed the strategy to review the feasibility of temporary accommodation for the MICL before submission of the appropriate business case for a new permanent building. A subsequent Initial Feasibility Report, based on the information available at the time, concluded that:

(a)it is technically possible to house the MICL in a modular building;

(b)the preferred location for the modular building is on the east side of the Forvie site;

(c)a temporary planning application would be required for the modular building;

(d)the building could be one or two storeys with a separate modular unit for activities involving radiation;

(e)the building could be in use by the end of 2025.

7. A project to develop a ‘Temporary building for the MICL’ was therefore registered with the Planning and Resources Committee (PRC) in February 2024. The plan below shows the expected location of the proposed temporary building.

8. There are inherent inefficiencies in a strategy that involves double relocation. However, the scope that has been developed will accommodate the MICL in suitable laboratory and write-up space, where the requirements for the facility are based on the minimum viable product for the team to continue to operate over approximately a five-year period. This temporary solution is intended to provide the University with sufficient time to enable the issues with the longer-term plans to be resolved, for a strategy for the University’s landholdings across the Cambridge Biomedical Campus to be developed, and for providing the MICL with appropriate long-term accommodation.

9. The Project Cost of the new temporary facility is estimated to be £9.2m. This initial estimate will be refined during the next phase of design development, which will be undertaken through the procurement of a specialist modular contractor under a pre-construction services agreement.

10. The Estates Committee expects to receive the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the project on 22 July 2024. Due to the timing of the Estates Committee meeting, after the last General Board and PRC meetings of the Easter Term, approval from the General Board and PRC will be sought by circulation.

11. The urgent need for a replacement facility for the MICL means that approval from the Regent House to apply for full planning permission for a temporary facility is being sought ahead of approval from the Estates Committee, General Board and PRC for the OBC. However, if the OBC is not approved by all, or any one of these committees, approval from the Regent House will be considered null and void.

12.The Council recommends:

I.That, subject to the approval by the Estates Committee, General Board and Planning and Resources Committee of the Outline Business Case for the project, approval in principle be given for the construction of a new temporary facility for the Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory on the Forvie site.

II.That the Director of Estates be authorised to apply for full planning permission in due course.

2 July 2024

Indicative temporary building location plan