University Building Rank Well in Audit
Written by Anthony Halewood
In a national audit of universities compiled by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in September 2007, none of John Moores’ Buildings were ranked seriously unfit or badly in need of repair.

The data, which was kept secret by the government for two and a half years, at an estimated cost of £50,000, was finally revealed after a freedom of information request and lengthy court battle by the Guardian. Many of its competitors scored badly, with 13% of Edge Hill’s labs, libraries, lecture theatres and classrooms being ranked as ‘unsuitable for current use’ and 6% of the University of Liverpool’s halls of residence being ranked as ‘inoperable, or in serious risk of major failure or breakdown’. One in ten universities had ten percent or more of their non-residential buildings classed as unuseable and at risk of major breakdown.

It wasn’t all good news for LJMU however, 19% of non-residential buildings at the university were classed as in the second lowest category, ‘operational, but in need of major repair’. A further 73% of non-residential buildings were classed as ‘operationally sound’, and the remaining 8% were ‘new’ in the 07/08 academic year. University buildings were also assessed on their suitability for the purpose they were being used for at the time. Rankings were given from 1 to 4, with 1 being excellent, and 4 being classed as ‘unsuitable for current use’. Only 15% of buildings were rated in the highest category, with 25% in category 2 and 60% in category 3.

The Halls of Residence used by the university were also assessed, however with most of the halls offered by the university are owned and operated by outside companies, with only Barkhill Court at IM Marsh being assessed. Barkhill Court scored category 2 for suitability and ‘operationally sound’ for its state of repair.

However fears are growing that with Universities facing budget cuts across the board, and the recent announcement that grants for new buildings is to be cut by 14% in the next academic year, many universities could see building maintenance as an easy way to save some much needed cash.