University of Warwick looking to develop Wellesbourne campus

The University of Warwick has revealed that they are planning a new development on their site at Wellesbourne, 14 miles south of the main campus and current home to a section of the School of Life Sciences and the Warwick Crop Centre.

While the University has said that there are no specific plans as of yet for what is to be built on the site, they have stated their openness to suggestions from anyone who wishes to partner with them about how they may enhance the site along the theme of an “Innovation campus”.

The University have also stated that they wish to make full use of the 450 acres of space they have available on the site to build a challenging and inspirational environment.

The University acquired the Wellesbourne campus in 2004 when it merged with Horticulture Research International, a collection of numerous horticultural research stations, including one at Wellesbourne, which is the only site that has been kept open.

The merger led to the formation of a new research organisation called Warwick HRI, which was eventually closed in 2009 due to its high cost.

In 2010 it was merged with the University’s Department of Biological Sciences to form the current School of Life Sciences. From here grew Warwick Crop Centre, a centre for research in sustainable agriculture and horticulture, and in food security.

This is the second of the University’s intended ‘innovation’-themed developments, after the planned National Automotive Innovation Campus, a £92 million project funded by Jaguar Land Rover and the UK government. The purpose of this project is to research into developing new technologies to lower the usage of fossil fuels and to reduce CO2 emissions.

The University have confirmed that whatever future developments occur at the Wellesbourne campus, the facilities at the School of Life Sciences and the Warwick Crop Centre will remain.