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Exeter Uni halts building procurement

30 Apr 20 Exeter University has cited the Covid-19 pandemic as its reason for suspending the procurement process for a major construction project on its Streatham campus.

Hopkins' design for Project North Park
Hopkins' design for Project North Park

The university put out the call for contractors last September to build a £55m postgraduate and research teaching facility

Called Project North Park, it was to be the university's largest single infrastructure investment made on its Streatham campus to date. Construction consultant Aecom and Hopkins Architects were working with the university on the development.

However, the university said this week: “In light of the current Covid-19 situation the University has taken the decision to pause Project North Park until next year. We feel this is the most sensible decision to make at this time to ensure the University can focus its efforts on supporting students and staff through these unprecedented circumstances. We will update construction and opening times for the building soon.”

It added: “A planning application has been submitted to Exeter City Council for the building. We expect to hear whether the planning application is approved in May 2020.”

The plan is to build North Park in three phases. The first phase will include constructing the complete shell of the building and fitting out the part of the building that will be occupied first. The second and third phases will fit out the rest of the building areas. This approach is designed to “retain financial security and the flexibility to adapt the building to the changing needs of the university in the coming years”.

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MPU
MPU

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