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GERI Moves and the ERDF Project. An Update. Roadmap. The Background. The New Build. The Concept. The Project. A Rethink. The Shape of ‘GERI to Come’. The Financial Picture. Timescales. The Background. GERI is an International Centre of Excellence in its field.
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GERIMoves and the ERDF Project An Update
Roadmap • The Background. • The New Build. • The Concept. • The Project. • A Rethink. • The Shape of ‘GERI to Come’. • The Financial Picture. • Timescales.
The Background. • GERI is an International Centre of Excellence in its field. • National top quartile ranking in every RAE since 1996. • Despite this neither our accommodation nor our locations are exactly “flattering”. • The Faculty and the University want to see GERI expand.
New Build • The University’s initial proposal was to build us a new accommodation unit. • This would bring all of us into one office suite with meeting facilities etc. • But it doesn’t address the lab requirement.
The Concept • Concentrate all our laboratories in the annex. • Use the University’s funding for the New Build as “matched funding” in an ERDF bid in order to raise the necessary money to refurbish the annex laboratories. • The ERDF project would assist GERI to expand...
The Project • To “earn” the ERDF grant we have to achieve certain deliverables • We carry on we our core business – research. But build in industrial partners from the North West. • We are expected to introduce them to how to get grants, deliver new technology for them and solve problems. • Over the course of the project we will contract to create new jobs in these local companies.
A Rethink. • Problem: • Once we started costing the refurbishment of the annex it became quickly apparent that the cost was going to be very high indeed. • The limit on the size of the project is the amount of matched funding we can raise. The cost of the new build is £1m – so the maximum available for refurbishment will be another £1m. • Its not possible to refurbish the annex for this!
A Rethink • For a short time it looked like the project might be dead. • But enthusiasm both in NWDA and the University encouraged us to look for an alternative. • The Dean to the rescue!...
The Shape of ‘GERI to Come’. • We still have the New Build. • We get ALL of the Basement – both sides of the corridor. This area will be refurbished to a high standard. • We get new laboratory accommodation on the ground floor immediately above the basement area. The Dean’s office to the post room! Again this will be extensively refitted out. • New entrances will be constructed – opposite the new building & in the main foyer.
The Timescales. December 2010 – Final Submission of the grant application. February 2011 – Grant Announcement. March 2011 – Contract signed Project official start date. Clock starts on deliverables April 2011 – AMT staff vacate office area in annex. Demolition of annex office area. May 2011 – Construction of the new building commences. B4 Robotics and Manufacturing Lab vacated. Refurbishment of basement area commences. July 2011 – AMT Laboratory moves into basement. 1st Floor offices vacated – staff move to new building. Refurbishment of 1st Floor Offices commences. Rest of GERI move office accommodation to new building. August 2011 – Dean’s staff occupy 1stfloor offices. - Conversion and refitting of ground floor laboratories. September 2011 – Formal opening of GERI’s new facilities.