University of Northampton vice chancellor to leave

The University of Northampton said Nick Petford was leaving to pursue opportunities in the field of international education

A university vice chancellor behind a £330m campus has announced he is stepping down from the role.

The University of Northampton said Prof Nick Petford had "spearheaded" the move to its new Waterside Campus in 2018.

He leaves at a time when the latest accounts showed the university recorded a loss of £15.1m in 2019-20.

Mr Petford, who has led the university since 2010 and will step down next year, said he was "proud" of his time in charge.

The new campus took four years to build, replaced two former campuses and features four academic buildings, floodlit sports facilities and an energy centre providing low carbon heat.

The Waterside Campus cost £330m and it will take 40 years for the loans that funded it to be paid off

An old Victorian rail shed was turned into a new student union building

It was funded through more than £290m of loans over a 40-year period and costs almost £10m per year in repayments.

In 2015, the Northampton branch of the University and College Union passed a motion of no confidence in Mr Petford saying the university was "incurring significant debt based on risky assumptions about future student numbers and fee levels".

The university's 2020 financial report said it recorded a £15.1m operating loss in 2019-10, following a loss of £16m in 2018-19.

The state-of-the art development replaced the university's two former campuses

The university said Mr Petford had "spearheaded the University of Northampton's bold decision to relocate the University from its previous campus to a purpose-built facility within Northampton's Enterprise Zone".

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Mr Petford said: "I arrived at Northampton in the knowledge that universities looked set to face unprecedented challenges, and I am proud that we have risen to each challenge and overcome it - particularly in these most recent, difficult times."

Chairman of the University's Board of Governors, Mark Mulcahey, said Mr Petford's "progressive thinking has become the hallmark of the University of Northampton".