University to shut buildings as 'estate too big'

A university has announced further closures days after it said one of its campuses would shut completely.

The University of Wolverhampton said its estate was too large and operating costs had reached an extra £6m a year.

To secure financial stability an "Estates Masterplan" has been published that includes shutting the School of Art, which has provoked a 3,500-signature petition against the plan.

The arts school is due to shut in the plan's first phase along with the sports centre. Its Telford Campus will also shut by August 2026, with teaching services relocated to Walsall, as well as making way for a medical school to be built.

The university said the plans would enable it to invest in strategies to improve student experience, protect jobs, enhance staff welfare and deliver growth.

Alternative spaces would also be created for the sports centre and art school, bosses added.

Telford and Wrekin Council previously said it was "disappointed" by the closure of the Telford campus.

Shirley Reynolds, the council's cabinet member for education, added that the council was "determined" to ensure residents had access to the best education and training opportunities.

The Twentieth Century Society, a charity that campaigns for the preservation of architecture built after 1914, supported the petition to save the art school.

Director Catherine Croft described it as a "real local landmark" which was popular in the area.

"It is irresponsible not to think of retaining and reusing a building of this quality", she added.

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