University of Chester to close Padgate Campus and move to Warrington town centre

Announcing its plans, the university said it needed to reconsider its current location on Crab Lane in favour of a site which is more fit for purpose for current and future demand.

The Warrington Guardian understands that the current Warrington Campus site, which includes student accommodation, is likely to become housing.

The University of Chester is in the process of negotiating a lease on a property in the regenerated Time Square, bringing higher education into the heart of the community.

The central location will allow students and staff easy access to public transport and leisure and retail facilities, with greater opportunities for spending the ‘student pound’ and contributing more towards the town centre economy.

A second building near Time Square will accommodate most of the spaces for the University’s core teaching, including specialist facilities.

The Guardian understands Mersey Bank House, the former tax office building on Barbauld Street will be used by the university.

But, the university added that the footprint 'may ultimately extend beyond this'.

The transfer to the town centre should be completed by September 2022 and the university is 'considering options for its current site', in close consultation with Warrington Borough Council.

Padgate Campus

Care will be taken to preserve the campus’s history, in discussions with alumni.

Warrington Wolves, whose training facilities are currently on campus, have been kept appraised.

It is understood they will be able to stay at the campus through 2021 but will need to look for a new base for 2022.

Those talks are already under way, the Guardian understands.

Professor Eunice Simmons, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, said: "Warrington is a dynamic and forward-thinking town and our higher profile will facilitate tapping into potential new markets, including higher-level vocational skills alongside traditional degrees.

"Warrington is also a town with a strong sense of social responsibility, which aligns perfectly with the university’s strategic vision to provide our ‘Citizen Students’ with a ‘premium, personalised and purposeful’ experience.

"For example, many members of the public in Warrington may already have been taught, treated or protected by our local education, health and social care or policing graduates without realising it!

"We look forward to working more closely with employers, schools and partner colleges to support a joined-up approach to local and regional employment needs.

"Talking to our students and staff and other stakeholders, we have been able to evaluate our current provision and understand fully how best to realise our ambition to broaden the reach and accessibility of the University in Warrington.

"The move also enables the university to be embedded into the Warrington economy, responding to both local need and demand whilst focussing on areas of growth and providing strategic support for the post-Covid economic and cultural recovery."

Education has been provided at the Fearnhead site for more than 80 years with a number of providers based there.