Shepherd appointed as first main contractor on new University Campus
Posted on 25 July 2008
The £25m project, providing accommodation for 617 students and five staff in a mixture of houses and flats, marks the start of the first cluster on Heslington East, which will also comprise the Department of Theatre, Film and Television, the Department of Computer Science, the Creative Technologies Hub, and The York Law School and The York Management School.
...it gives us great pleasure to appoint such a respected local company as the main contractor for the initial building of the University's historic expansion at Heslington East
Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor
The University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor said: "Shepherd Construction has played an important role in the development of York over the last 100 years, so it gives us great pleasure to appoint such a respected local company as the main contractor for the initial building of the University's historic expansion at Heslington East. For a collegial University such as ours, it is entirely appropriate that the first building on Heslington East is a new college."
With sustainability a key feature, Shepherd’s in-house design team designed the new College, to achieve a BREEAM rating of "Very Good". Its features include a Sustainable Urban Drainage System, where the surface water will be channelled via a series of swales, leading down to a feature lake. Energy efficiency is also maximised, through heat recovery systems. The building also features a timber-frame, which will be sourced from sustainable sources.
Construction on the College will start in July 2008, with the first students taking up residence in October 2009 .
ENDS
For further information contact :
Gail Gillatt, Marketing Manager, Shepherd Construction Ltd. Tel: 01904 660516 Fax: 01904 660238
Email: ggillatt@shepherd-construction.co.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of York
- The University of York, founded in 1963, has 12,000 students, 3,000 staff and more than 30 academic departments and research centres.
- From its inception, the University has concentrated on strong viable departments and teaching and research of the highest quality. Of the departments to be located on Heslington East, The York Management School and the Department of Computer Science are well-established while The Law School and the Department of Theatre, Film and Television will take their first undergraduates this year.
- York is 74th in the latest QS/Times Higher Education Supplement rankings of the world’s top 200 universities. The University has ambitious plans for growth. This includes plans for a 50 per cent growth in student numbers - much of it focused on postgraduate and international students – and significant research expansion and spin-out activity as the University develops the potential of its intellectual property.
- York intends to remain one of Britain’s leading research-intensive universities, and to develop its global reputation. www.york.ac.uk
About Shepherd Construction
- Shepherd Construction is an industry leading construction company handling projects up to £100m in value for the Public and Private sectors, including leisure, commercial, industrial, housing, health, education, retail and research laboratories.
- It operates throughout the UK, with its Head Office in York. Shepherd also has offices located in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Darlington, Slough and St. Neots.
- Shepherd Construction employs approximately 1000 people with a wide base of skilled craftsmen and a multi-disciplinary in-house design team.
- Since its foundation more than 100 years ago, the business has been a recognised leader for quality, innovation and training. It was the first national construction company to achieve Investors in People in 1992 and passed its fifth re-assessment with flying colours in 2004. Shepherd holds three prestigious National Training Awards, as well as the 2002 Contract Journal Award for Training. It was voted the 'Best place to work in Construction' in the 2005 Contract Journal Awards.
- It is part of Shepherd Group, one of the largest family owned, private companies in the UK, with Group turnover in excess of £600 million.