University staff move into former Debenhams

The new campus will be a base for 1,200 students and staff

University of Gloucestershire staff have begun moving into the former Debenhams building in Gloucester city centre.

The new City Campus cost almost £75 million and will be a base for 1,200 students and staff, with the public also able to use some areas.

The new campus will host education, psychology and social work students and will also be home to a new arts, health and wellbeing centre - run in partnership with the NHS - and a new public library.

The move marks the completion of work on the ground and first floors as part of phase one of the overall project.

Dr Katerina Kantartzis, lead for the arts, health and wellbeing centre said it was an "exciting collaboration" with the NHS that would place greater emphasis on "social proscribing and preventative health".

The new campus was partly paid for by the NHS and Gloucestershire Council in addition to grant and levelling up funding, with the remaining cost borne by the university.

Clare Marchant, vice chancellor of the university, said the campus was "unique" in combining teaching, research and community spaces, adding that she hopes the new wellbeing space will help to identify and resolve issues faced by the "overburdened" NHS.

The university bought the former department store in 2021 and it now contains lecture and seminar rooms, casual work spaces and research laboratories with virtual reality capabilities.

Gloucester City Council leader Jeremy Hilton said the new campus would be at the "heart" of a "vibrant, sustainable and economically thriving" city centre, which will also include The Forum and the Greyfriars Quarter.

Earlier plans for the campus included spaces fit for 4,000 students and staff. But during construction, the decision was made to invest in the university's Cheltenham campus and the nearby Golden Valley development, leaving the new campus with extra space. Some areas in the former Debenhams store are still under construction.