University of Reading Whiteknights Campus

Delivering an enhanced campus for the university

Our role

  • University of Reading has a proven track record of creating excellent teaching and research facilities and has ambitious plans for capital investment.
  • The university’s 2026: Transform project will see a further £200m invested in providing first class facilities for its students.
  • Working with the university’s estates team, we have provided planning and heritage advice and secured planning permissions for a number of major projects which will deliver transformational change within the Whiteknights campus.
  • The campus straddles two local authority areas and we have built strong relationships with both planning authorities, resulting in more effective dialogue and timely and consistent decisions.

Results

  • We secured planning permission for the £40m refurbishment of the university library, a building which is integral to students’ learning experience.
  • The refurbishment has created a more comfortable study environment, outdoor study space, more toilets (including disabled and gender neutral provision) and bigger lifts, providing better access for wheelchair users.
  • We also secured permission for a new Health and Life Sciences Building, consolidating the six existing buildings for the School of Biological Sciences into a single building. The building was completed in early 2020 and provides state-of-the-art facilities to match demand for Life Science studies.

Image courtesy of Stride Treglown