Facility of Biological sciences

Estate Services Update, July 2021

Capital Developments Update

Sir William Henry Bragg Building

There are just a few months to go now before doors open into the Sir William Henry Bragg Building. To keep everyone informed of progress, regular videos will be produced showing fit out work taking place. You can watch the latest video here.

Facility boost for Faculty of Biological Sciences

Estates have worked in partnership with the Faculty of Biological Sciences to refurbish facilities one Levels 4 & 9 of the Garstang Building. This project is now complete, and staff are expected to move in the new facilities in the summer. View the photos and read more about the project here.

Campus developments newsletter

To receive regular updates on capital projects, sign up to the bi-monthly campus developments newsletter here!

Grounds and Gardens Team Update

Annual planting schemes

The grounds & gardens team have just completed the annual summer bedding displays around campus. This involves planting over 6000 plants locally sourced from Leeds City Councils facility at the Arium.

Zero emission equipment

As the grounds and gardens team continue to transition towards zero emission equipment we have purchased the University’s first pedestrian electric lawn mower and new street barrow with battery powered vacuum.

Handling all external work

Following a successful transition of the external cleaning team into the Grounds and Gardens team we now provide a one stop shop for all external matters.

Annual pitch renovation

The grounds team based at Sports Park Weetwood have commenced the annual pitch renovation programme which will involve the application of over 600T sand and 1000kg UK grown grass seed. A full replacement of lighting on the hockey 1 pitch at Weetwood will be delivered over the coming weeks providing a fully compliant FIH surface and a 50% energy reduction due to the new LED lighting.

Reopening off-campus buildings

Steve Molloy continues to provide support and preparation for reopening of external campus buildings such as Cloth Hall Court and Selside. A significant amount of work goes on in the background ensuring compliance activity is met at all times as well as managing unforeseeable events such as roof leaks the night before a large booking.

5000 trees planted with Sustainability Service and the Environment Agency

The Grounds and Gardens team and the Sustainability Service, in partnership with the Environment Agency have planted more than 5000 trees at the University’s Brownlee Triathlon Centre to reduce flood risk to the Leeds area downstream.

Tree planting at Bodington Playing Fields, where the Brownlee Triathlon Centre is located, took place between February and March, and is part of a wider programme of natural flood management techniques being introduced into the Leeds catchment as part of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme’s flagship Natural Flood Management Project. The project is a great example of the University’s partnership approach to addressing the climate crisis through collaborative research and innovation.

The scheme is also part of the University of Leeds Living Lab programme, with the site to be used for live research projects to test sustainable solutions; be an integral part of University teaching, and be a location for local schools and communities to visit.

Read more about this innovative partnership here.

Support Services Update

Planon Desk booking system

The team has been successful in the testing and delivery of a new automated desk booking system, which will be accessed via Planon, and is currently live and in operation in the FD Building. Staff have worked tirelessly to test the system and create the best customer experience for the users. They assessed desks across the FD and Ziff Buildings to ensure that the correct data was set up, enabling staff to know which desks are available for booking. This has been a major achievement and the team have done a fabulous job getting this ready for use now and in the future.

Planon – maintenance requests

Members of the team are heavily involved in creating the new workflow for using Planon to support Maintenance requests and are looking forward to testing the system once configuration is complete.

Car Parking

Car parking have been updating and purging the permits that are held with the NHS Trust, the Edge and the Deanery. They have also managed the re-start of the Interim Permits whilst working on a strategy for the future in cooperation with the Sustainability Service.

Supporting campus re-entry

The team continue to support the campus re-entry programme through logging of maintenance requests and ensuring urgent issues are dealt with swiftly, organising one-off visits for staff to come onto campus for a specific purpose, arranging desk availability for those requiring space on campus and dealing with customer queries relating to car parking across the University.

Thank you

After another challenging year, the team have done a tremendous job to ensure all activities remain up to date whilst taking on additional tasks such as staff collection visits, approved staff list management and desk booking to support the wider University; all whilst successfully adapting to a hybrid way of working. Well done team!

Read July updates from across the Facilities Directorate:

FD Bulletin, July 2021. Foreword by Dennis Hopper

Facilities Directorate Update, July 2021

Facilities Directorate Support Services Update, July 2021

Campus Support Services Update, July 2021

Estate Services Update, July 2021

Sustainability Services Update, July 2021

Residential Services Update, July 2021

Conferencing Update, July 2021

Great Food at Leeds Update, July 2021

Sport and Physical Activity Update, July 2021