Work on University of Huddersfield Business School expansion brought forward

Mar 9 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

SUPPLIERS and subcontractors will benefit from a grand-scale building project.

The Government pledged £2m to accelerate the £16.3m expansion of the University of Huddersfield’s Business School.

Vice-chancellor Prof Bob Cryan was pleased with the new investment.

He said: “This is good news for the people of Huddersfield. The Government has given us £2m earlier than planned to allow us to employ people during the recession.”

Albany Mills on Firth Street will be demolished next month and replaced with a four-storey 4,000 sq m new building. The original 3,150 sq m business school will be extensively refurbished and the two buildings will be linked by a curved block.

Leeds-based BAM Construction – which built the university’s creative arts building – has won the contract for the business school expansion.

Prof Cryan hopes the building work, which starts in May, will benefit local businesses. He said: “This is the largest building project in Huddersfield this year. Wherever possible we will be using local suppliers and subcontractors. We are also asking sub-contractors to use apprentices where possible and we hope to source the stone locally.”

Prof Cryan added that the work would benefit the area. He said: “It will help regenerate Firth Street, parts of which still look a bit dull. The design of the new building is environmentally-friendly and will use water from the canal to cool the building.”