Comments on the Estates Development Framework for Sutton Bonington:

Overall, quite reasonable but there are several problematic aspects.

1. Putting new buildings, for whatever purpose, along the front lawns will destroy the pleasant and historical face of the campus. This idea should be dropped forthwith. The lawns may be made more natural (‘ecological’) by becoming wildflower areas, and contain other natural plants, but should absolutely not be built on.

2. Using road Melton lane as as the main entrance to campus is probably not wise. The road near that entrance is relatively narrow and has bends reducing visibility. It does not feel the safest road to drive on under current traffic conditions. Further, once through the gate, vehicles would have to travel a long way through the campus to get to the central area (where I understand main reception will be). It may be better to use the college road entrance (the current one with a barrier) as the main entrance, as this feeds more directly into the new reception area. College road also feels to be a wider, safer road than Melton road and thus a better option for traffic on and off campus.

Further comments:
3. Car parking on SB is already very challenging so it is indeed important to add some more. A new car part near Zouch house is a reasonable choice as this area is currently very underused. However, if it is to be for student parking, it may be better to access it from the current car park behind Zouch house rather than creating a new entrance from College road.
4. Student accommodation: it is clear that with the expansion of the Vet school much more student accommodation on campus is needed, and soon. Next to the arboretum is a good location.
5. College road houses – these could be retained and renovated and new houses in the same style put between them.

Hi Ian, thanks for taking the time to share your views. If you could email your comments to edf@nottingham.ac.uk before Sunday 9 February so that the Estates team can see them, that would be great. Thanks.

Regarding Jubilee Campus

I really like the idea of a nature corridor, a tree planting scheme that would link the existing wood land copse with the existing woodland trail. This would be good for climate mitigation and a shaded area for people to chill during summer time. What tree species would be selected for planting and who would be responsible for ongoing management?

Relating to multi story car park C, I note that this is within proximity or indeed built upon the existing green waste site for the estates. So, would the green waste site be relocated? Has green waste been considered as a potential bio-fuel for the campus?

There is also no mention of a much-needed estates hub to replace Woolpack Lane which is currently not fit for purpose as a building for staff to use.

Are wind turbines not a potential option for obtaining carbon neutral electricity, has this been explored?

A pedestrianised campus would be another excellent idea, with designated cycle lanes to encourage active travel.

Could you also please explain how you would plan to increase biodiversity aroumd the lakes and also increase water quality?

Many Thanks

Simon

I

Hi Simon, thanks for taking the time to share your views. If you could email your comments to edf@nottingham.ac.uk before Sunday 9 February so that the Estates team can see them, that would be great. Thanks.

Yes, I can and will email my views to the above email address – but it rather begs the question as to what the purpose of this online form is if feedback is not looked at unless it is then emailed. As far as I was concerned I had given my feedback and it was only by chance that I looked again and discovered that something else was required. This system does not seem very well thought through, I am afraid. I would suggest that the Estates team look at these comments themselves (why wouldn’t they?) or that they are automatically emailed on submission to this web site.

Hi Ian, thanks for that. If you follow the link in the article, there is a section that tells you that all comments are welcome, and should be emailed to edf@nottingham.ac.uk. We are part of the communications team, who communicate these articles on behalf of the departments the information comes from. Campus News is essentially a depository for these articles. To try and clear up any confusion though, I have edited the article to make it explicitly clear from the offset that comments should be emailed to edf@nottingham.ac.uk. Thanks, I hope that helps.