Completed refurbishment projects The following major

Completed refurbishment projects
The following major refurbishment projects were
completed in the Science Area during Michaelmas
term:
Major projects underway

The Malthouse, Tidmarsh Lane (Estates
Services) – refurbishment to accommodate
staff relocation is scheduled to commence at
Easter 2015

Thom building (Department of Engineering
Science) – new reception area

Dyson Perrins (School of Geography and the

Environment) – Phase II refurbishment

Rex Richards (Department of Materials) –
ground floor refurbishment
Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic
Resonance Research roof extension –
contractors are on site with completion
expected in May 2015

Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory – 
laboratory refurbishment
Blavatnik School of Government – due for
completion at the end of August 2015

Robert Hooke building (Research Services,

Department of Computer Science, MPLS Divisional office) – refurbishment of second and
third floors
Refurbishment of the Radcliffe Infirmary
Outpatients Building for the Department of
Primary Care Health Services – due for
completion in the summer of 2015
Also completed are:


Weston Library (Phase 1) rebuild – read
more here

Refurbishment of graduate accommodation at
Summertown House – read more here

An electrical upgrade at the Park Hospital site
Biorepository facilities in Milton Keynes and at 
Osney Mead
Ruskin School of Art – demolition of the
building on Bullingdon Road (housing
workshops, sculpture, printmaking and digital
multimedia facilities) has been completed and
construction of the new building is now
underway with completion due in September
2015
Big Data Institute (Old Road Campus) –
started on site in October 2014 with the
demolition of the Rosemary Rue building;
completion is due in October 2015

Mathematics building in St Giles (Department
of Statistics) – started on site, due for
completion in December 2015
At planning and design stages …

Amenities Building (Old Road Campus) –
awaiting planning permission but due to start
on site in early 2015

Begbroke Accelerator – architects have been
appointed for the building, which is being
funded through the government’s City Deal

MRI scanner and Helium capture/re-use at
Warneford Hospital is awaiting planning
permission with work
expected to commence in June 2015

The new Beecroft Building for the Physics
Department – work will start on site in June
2015 with completion due in June 2017

Nursery at the Old Road Campus –
completion is due in September 2015
Concerto to replace Archetype
New portfolio, programme and project management
software – Concerto – has been selected to replace
the existing Archetype system used by the Capital
Projects team. The new package will provide
significantly improved management as well as an
enhanced document database and more robust
compliance with audit requirements.
series of time lapse videos.
Head of Capital Projects, Richard Jones,
commented: ‘There was some anxiety that the
removal of demolished material would create
significant disruption in the Science Area. However,
working alongside our contractors, the tower has
been removed efficiently and with minimal
disruption.’
Castle Mill Environmental Statement published
As part of the University’s commitment to continued
engagement with the local community, its students
and the City of Oxford, Estates Services held a
public exhibition on 5 and 6 December to enable the
wider community to view the Environmental
Statement on the graduate accommodation at
Castle Mill, which was published on 30 October.
The seven-week period of public consultation
following publication closed on 19 December and
allowed everyone in the city to consider all the
issues the report raised. The University continues to
believe that the benefits the development has
brought to student accommodation and the Oxford
housing market remain of prime importance when
considering its impact.
For more details, visit Estates Services
newsfeed. For a copy of the Non-Technical
Summary of the Environmental Statement, please
contact estates.communications@admin.ox.ac.uk.
Departments will be able to login to see an array of
information, such as PSG minutes, design
drawings, BESC and CSG papers, as relevant to
their projects. User testing will take place in June
with a view to the system going live as soon as
possible during Michaelmas term.
Hans Kreb Tower completed with minimal
disruption
Demolition of the Hans Kreb Tower is nearly
complete, making way for a new state-of-the-art
building to house interdisciplinary research in the
Biosciences including Physiology, Chemistry,
Biochemistry, and Clinical Neurosciences.
Refurbishment of St Luke’s Chapel
Refurbishment of St Luke’s Chapel on the ROQ site
will commence in March and is scheduled to
complete in the summer.
The demolition process, which has involved taking
The work to the Grade II listed building will create
the building apart from the inside in a piecemeal
an attractive space suitable for performances,
fashion, started last summer – visit the internet for a
seminars and lectures with a seating capacity of
around 100 people, resulting in a valuable new
facility for the University and local community.
Other enhancements will include new insulation,
lighting and audio visual systems, as well as toilets
and a kitchenette. A highlight of the project will be
the reinstatement of the chapel’s stone bell tower.
The original is currently being assessed to see if it
can be safely reinstalled; failing that, a replacement
will be commissioned. The chapel’s bell is currently
being stored but will be returning to its rightful place
later this year.
Projects team.
The Grade II-listed building has three new reading
rooms, research and teaching facilities, and state-of
-the-art storage for the library's valuable special
collections of rare books, manuscripts, archives,
music and maps. The aims of the project were to:
create high-quality storage for the Libraries'
valuable special collections, which are preserved
for international scholarship develop the Libraries'
space for the support of advanced research (with
The chapel will also become the new home to some seminar rooms, a lecture theatre and digital
research facilities) expand public access through
of the original sculptures from the Radcliffe
new exhibition galleries and other facilities.
Observatory Quarter that are now too delicate to
The Estates Services joiners team (part of the DLO)
remain outside.
also contributed significantly to the refurbishment
Diary Dates
work through their renovation of original furniture
Project Sponsor Group training will take place on
designed by Gilbert Scott, as well as repairs and
the following dates in the next six months: 16
refurbishment of fitted joinery such as book cases.
January, 13 March and 11 May, all at 10am at The The work has taken nearly three years and required
Malthouse. For more information and to book a
careful coordination and planning, as well as
craftsmanship of the highest quality.
place, contact Linda Ranford, Capital Projects
Administrator.
An official opening is planned for March 2015, when
Estates projects feature in Regeneration Show- a new entrance colonnade on the south side of the
case
building off Broad Street will welcome visitors and
Three Estates Services projects feature in a
scholars into a new central public space.
Regeneration Showcase exhibited at the Customer
Service Centre at St Aldate’s Chambers, during
More details can be found on the Bodleian Libraries
November and December, moving to the Oxford
website.
Central Library from 5 to 31 January.
Project boards, highlighting our work at Old Road
Campus, ROQ and the Weston Library, were first
shown as part of an exhibition put together by
Oxford City and Oxfordshire County Councils last
September at the Westgate Centre.
Following the positive feedback received, including
compliments from many people about how good it
was to see so many projects displayed together, the
Chief Executives of both Councils requested that
the exhibition should be displayed at these
additional public venues.
Weston Library opened to readers and
researchers
The Weston Library – formerly the New Bodleian –
opened its doors to readers and researchers on
schedule at the end of September, following an
£80m refurbishment managed by the Capital
Electrical and DLO teams save the day after
substation flood
When David Baker, Electrical Engineer (Building
Services team) took a call from an Electrical
Inspector early one morning last October, to hear
the unwelcome news that 1 South Parks Road had
no electricity supply, there was no indication of the
scale of the problem that was about to unfold.
An investigation of the Robinson Close substation
revealed an alarming situation: the voltage switch
room was already 2ft deep in water and the room
temperature was very high. ‘It was clear that the
situation was dangerous and that the high voltage
supply needed isolating,’ explained David.
‘Unfortunately, this had an impact on several
buildings in the Science Area, including the Pitt
Rivers Museum, No1 Boiler House, Earth Sciences,
including Inorganic Chemistry and the DLO
workshops and offices.’
By 2pm both the DLO and 1 South Parks Road
were able to operate as normal and supplies were
restored to No1 Boiler House by 5.30pm. However,
difficulty sourcing generators that were powerful
enough to cope with the demands of some of the
larger buildings meant only lighting and essential
sources could be kept running in the interim period.
Unfortunately, the internal structure of the
switchboard was completely destroyed. Building a
new one normally takes 12 weeks but was
accomplished in less than the 10 day target that
was set.
Throughout, the Electrical team and the DLO
worked together to keep everything going.
Additional generators were sourced and regular r
e-fuelling arranged. ‘It was hard work and we
encountered difficulties on the way,’ said David,
‘however, we’re proud that it was business as usual
by the end of October – teamwork at its best.’
It was impossible to know the full extent of the
damage until all the water was removed. Members
of the DLO team, who were also at the scene, had
already contacted Thames Water seeking
permission to isolate the water main they knew
could be the only source of the problem. Security
Services requested assistance from the Fire
Brigade: it took two hours for the emergency
services to remove all the water and enable full
access to the switch room.
‘It was immediately apparent that the damage to the
switchboard panel was so severe that it was
completely unusable and would remain that way for
the immediate future,’ said David. ‘We consulted
Seamless electrical upgrade at Old Road
with departments to arrange for generators to be
quickly installed, and the DLO provided humidifiers Campus
to dry out the flooded space.’
Increasing University activity at the Old Road
Campus has led to a higher electrical usage on the
site, resulting in a supply upgrade to cope with the
extra demand. Steve Pearson, Head of Building
Services, explained: ‘Our supplier needed to test
the process of rapidly switching our new supply to
a different line in the event of a breakdown, and so
requested a complete power shutdown for two
hours.’
estates.helpdesk@admin.ox.ac.uk
We would like to remind departments that they are
still responsible for snow and ice clearing in the
immediate vicinity of their building. As in previous
years, the DLO can supply and deliver small
quantities of road salt, up to three bags at £9.00
each (including VAT and delivery), which may be
used for keeping areas clear. It is suggested that
departments place orders before the cold weather
arrives. Larger quantities can be obtained from
external suppliers. The DLO is also able to supply
sandbags in the event of a risk of flooding.
Club, and welcomed 32 new members of staff who
joined Estates Services as part of the transfer.
The Club is a sports and social club with
accommodation and is a members club for Oxford
University staff, graduates and alumni. Its catering
and hospitality facilities offer breakfasts, lunches,
evening meals and private catering for functions.
Business Rates
With an annual bill of more than £3m, business
rates represent a substantial cost to the University.
The Asset Management team has been working
with a specialist adviser to renegotiate our
business rates liability to reflect the unique nature
of the buildings we own and what they are used
The team contacted all the relevant building
for. In particular, we have been successful in
managers to assess any critical power needs (such
agreeing merged assessments of groups of
as long-term research experiments) and ensured
adjacent buildings: the Science Area for example is
that the existing generators were able to cope with
now one of the largest single-rating assessments
the critical loads. They then worked to establish
in the
the best time to cut the power off, so as to cause
country.
minimal disruption. 4am was the agreed time,
Departments, working with Estates Services, also
meaning a very early start for members of the
have a part to play in helping to minimise the
Building Services team who were all on site to
University’s overall business rates liability, as Gary
ensure everything went smoothly.
Lloyd, Head of Asset Management explains:
Adverse weather planning
‘Business rates can be a significant element in the
Over the winter, Estates
life cycle cost of a building and need to be
Services will again be
considered at the earliest stages of a new building
salting/gritting a number of
or refurbishment project. It is also important that
pre-defined areas across
we identify opportunities for savings or budget for
the functional estate, and
additional liabilities, which can arise if there is a
carrying out snow
change of occupancy or use.’
clearance where practical.
For more information and advice, contact Gary
This will be a combined
Lloyd, Head of Asset Management.
effort by the University Parks team and an external
FM expands managed building service
contractor and aims to ensure that salting/gritting
takes place ahead of poor weather to minimise the At the beginning of the current academic year, the
risk to staff, students, visitors and members of the Facilities Management team took over
public.
responsibility for FM services at the University
For more information and advice, including maps
showing priority ice/snow clearance areas, visit the
Estates Services news feed here. For any queries
please contact the Estates Services Helpdesk on
01865 (2)70877 or via email:
The FM team now manages 31 buildings across the Oxford University Press in 1870 and continued to
functional estate. Find out more about the
supply OUP with paper until the mill’s closure in
benefits of a managed service here or contact Liz
1998. The mill was demolished in 2004.
Kitchener, Head of Strategic FM.
Exploring the future potential of Osney Mead
Securing the future of Hill End
The review of the University’s 14-acre holdings at
A working party, comprising representatives from
Osney Mead has been completed. Undertaken by
the University, Oxfordshire County Council and the specialist consultants Bidwells, working with the
local community, is being set up to look into ways to Asset Management team, the review considered
improve and secure the future of the Hill End resiwhether investment or a change in approach might
dential and field studies centre.
improve the University’s return, and sought to
highlight any further opportunities that could
Hill End is a 62 acre site, part of the Wytham estate,
address academic needs.
and is currently leased to Oxfordshire County
Council. The school is used by schools, community A number of short-term goals – for the next two
and voluntary groups and various commercial
years – have been identified, including to:
organisations. Originally established as an outdoor

Undertake small-scale improvements to
school in the 1930s, it has been in the University’s
maximise occupancy and fulfil immediate
ownership since the Wytham estate was
requirements for functional use
bequeathed to the University in the 1940s, and

Maintain full occupation of buildings within the
contains a rich diversity of habitats; much of the
Functional Investment Fund, a portfolio of
area is designated a Site of Special Scientific
property managed for a commercial return
Interest (SSSI).
until required for use by the functional estate
Hill End has introduced generations of young

Investigate Permitted Development
people to outdoor learning and given many
opportunities
schoolchildren their first experience of spending a
night away from home. The University is keen to

Develop a masterplan
ensure this legacy continues. Find out more about
In the medium term – over the next 10 years – we
Hill End.
will look to accommodate University requirements
Plans for Wolvercote Paper Mill to be amended wherever possible, develop vacant spaces, use
Water-colour buildings for higher value/less industrial activities,
and look at ways to remedy the site’s constraints:
of the Old
Mill and Mill the review highlighted its poor connectivity with the
city centre and transport infrastructure, due to its
Stream by
location on the opposite side of the Thames and the
Leonard
mainline train viaduct; improving cycling and
Squirrell,
1948 We are pedestrian connectivity is among the goals put
continuing to forward.
review the
objections from the local community to the
application for homes to be built on the 17-acre
former paper mill site at Wolvercote, and are
working with the City Council, County Council,
Environment Agency and Neighbourhood Forum.
The intention is to hold a further public consultation
event early in 2015, and then to submit
amendments to the application.
Production of paper at Wolvercote dated back to at
least 1674 and it was claimed that it made the best
white paper in England. The mill was bought by
In the longer term (10-25 years), the vision will
include creating a more uniform identity and sense
of place for the entire site.
In 2014, the University acquired the 2.5 acre former
Co-Op depot on Osney Mead. This has proved a
valuable strategic land purchase: part of the site is
now let to UK Biocentre, the eastern section is now
being considered for functional use, which will free
up leased space elsewhere, and the former vehicle
maintenance unit has just been commercially let to
Oxford Archaeology for use as warehouse space.
For more information, contact Gary Lloyd, Head of
Asset Management, or Iain Critchlow, Space
Manager, Options Appraisals.
cabinets, reception desks, book shelves and
bookcases, and doors and windows, as well as
furniture restoration and French polishing.
New Philosophy Documents
To request joinery or cabinet making work, including
a quote, raise a work request via FacilityNet (if you
are an authorised user) or contact your
Departmental Administrator or Building Manager.
For advice and further information, contact Graham
Hooper, Joinery Supervisor on (2)78797, or Brian
Blakeman, DLO Manager on (2)82565 or (2)70877.
For more information, visit the Estates Services
website.
Estates Services is responsible for the
management, repair and maintenance of around
650,000m² of buildings, ranging from
highly-serviced research labs to iconic listed
buildings. Every year, new buildings are added to
the estate and existing buildings are refurbished.
To help provide better information and feedback to
the design teams responsible, a suite of philosophy
documents has been compiled.
Interactive map launched
Each document has been developed by the team
responsible for running and maintaining a particular
service. They reflect the requirements of the
University and also draw on the experience of those
maintaining the estate. Services covered include
repairs and maintenance, facilities management,
The Conservation & Buildings team has been
working with IT Services to provide a new
searchable map of the University to help visitors,
staff and students to find their way around.
The map enables users to search for specific
University buildings such as colleges, departmental
buildings, libraries and museums, as well as find
information about parking, ATMs and public
transport in Oxford. Take a look here.
Departments can embed the map in their websites
by following these instructions. For queries, please
contact Niall Strawson, Accessibility Adviser.
security, sustainability, space management, telecoms, IT and legal issues.
Joiners open for business
The Estates Services joiners (part of the Direct
Labour Organisation) are a highly skilled and
creative team that produces bespoke joinery and
cabinet making work for customers across the
collegiate University. They also work closely with
the Capital Projects and Conservation teams in the
restoration of some of Oxford’s most historic
buildings, including the Weston Library.
The range of joinery services available includes the
design, manufacture and refurbishment of display
New re-use scheme for departmentsWARPIt Reuse Scheme Button
WARPit (Waste
Action Reuse
Portal) is the new
online re-use scheme for departments that need to
find a new home for their unwanted items … or look
for equipment that they need, at no cost.
The sort of things you might be likely to offload – or
acquire – are office equipment, furniture, storage,
stationery, accessories, printer consumables, and
even plants and laboratory equipment, but anything
can be offered on WARPit, as long as it is usable
and belongs to the University. It’s also easy to
search for what you need and create a wish list of
items.
Transport Strategy
The University Council has adopted the University’s
first Transport Strategy prepared by the
Environmental Sustainability team, to reflect current
transport policies (national, local and University) and
to set out the key principles for developing the
University’s transport provision in line with its
academic objectives over the period 2013 to 2018.
The strategy has identified a number of key issues
including:

The need for a joined up approach between
the University of Oxford, Oxford City Council
and Oxfordshire County Council

The need for improved transport links northsouth and east-west between University sites
Using WARPit is a good way of reducing purchasing 
and disposal costs, as well as your environmental
impact. It’s also easy to search for what you need.
The benefit to the University is that WARPit provides 
monitoring and reporting of the amount of material
that is reused, including equivalent carbon and total

savings figures.
The need for cost effective and sustainable
travel options for the 50% of staff who live
outside the ring road
Poor accessibility into Oxford has an impact
on staff retention
Congestion on the road network makes
cycling difficult and dangerous and there are
insufficient dedicated cycle routes
WARPit has already been highly successful across
a number of universities, for example University
The strategy also sets out a number of strategic
College London saved in excess of £100,000 during
objectives:
two years of running the scheme whilst also saving
Reduce the number of journeys on the
26 tonnes of CO2 which would otherwise have been 
network
embedded into supply chains.
Find out more on the WARPit website, where you
can watch a short video and take a tour, and
register here. Unfortunately, the scheme is only
available to departmental staff. If you have any
queries, contact the Environmental Sustainability
team.

Improve and develop sustainable transport
services

Improve the journey experience

Improve local air quality

Reduce the carbon footprint
Among the proposed short-term measures are a
bus link with the Harwell Oxford science, innovation
and business campus, schemes for electric cycle
hire and cycle salvage, and a review of car parking.
Further ahead, the team will be working with
several other departments and external partners to
look at measures that include trials of consolidated
deliveries, a Park & Ride for Begbroke and a
University bus loop.
Following a period of consultation, involving the
Building & Estates Sub-committee, the Capital
Projects team and Project Managers, external
consultants and the Environmental Sustainability
team, a new streamlined version has recently been
released. Above all, it emphasises and encourages
engagement with sustainability considerations at
the earliest stages of a project, when there is
greatest benefit at the lowest cost.
For more information, contact Ed Wigzell, Travel
Officer.
The philosophy comprises:

Environmental Sustainability smashes
Facebook target
Over 1600 likes have been
registered on the Environmental 
Sustainability team’s Facebook
page which launched only a
year ago, surpassing both
Cambridge University and, notably, Oxford
Brookes, which has had a Facebook presence
since 2009.

Jennie Hurst, Environmental Sustainability Projects
Manager: ‘The success of our Facebook page
highlights the interest our students have in
sustainability. The page is ensuring we can
communicate with our customers and be accessible
to them in a way that fits in with them. This has
meant that student volunteer numbers have
increased significantly with waiting lists and high
turn outs for our student training courses. Facebook
has established itself as a key communication tool
for our team and is an area we look forward to
growing in next term and beyond.’
Connect with the team on Facebook and follow
them on Twitter.
Sustainable Buildings Philosophy – a more
streamlined approach
The University is committed to ensuring that
refurbishments and additions to the estate are as
sustainable as possible. Since 2009 this has been
realised through achieving the BREEAM (Building
Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method) Excellent standard for all
projects over £1m. In 2011 the Sustainable
Buildings Philosophy Document was introduced to
work alongside the BREEAM target and focus on
specific University policy goals.
a Strategic Guidance document covering key
design themes based on University, local and
national policies, primarily for use by Project
Sponsor Groups
a more detailed Design Guidance document,
which focuses on specific requirements to be
considered at the outset of the design phase
– such as location, form and size – and
further guidance for all the project cycle
stages through to post occupancy monitoring
some simple BREEAM tools.
The BREEAM tools are already in use on several
projects since their launch last summer, including
the Beecroft Building, the Amenities Building at Old
Road Campus, refurbishment of the Old
Mathematics Institute and the refurbishment of St
Luke’s Chapel on the ROQ site, due to start in the
Spring.
For more information, contact Tom Heel, Sustainable Building Officer.
Ashmolean lighting upgrade
Estates Services has recently
completed an exciting project
at the Ashmolean Museum,
involving the replacement of
1,969 halogen light fittings with
state of the art bespoke LED
fittings. The fittings were designed by a specialist
lighting manufacturer, working closely with the
Museum staff, and ensure that visitors can now
view displays at their very best, in an environment
that does not degrade the artefacts. The new lights
can also be fully adjusted to match artefacts as
displays in the galleries are changed. Furthermore,
the fittings were designed to meet the University’s
environmental sustainability standards and will
result in the Museum saving £45k per year in
energy costs and reduce its CO2 emissions by 236
tonnes per year. The old fittings were dismantled
and their components were sent to a specialist
waste contractor to ensure their contents were
reused.
Electric vans trialled at ROQ
The Environmental Sustainability team was recently
contacted by Nissan, offering the University a trial of
their electric vans. Staff at the ROQ have used the
vehicles to get around the site and members of the
Messenger Service have trialled one of the vans to
do their rounds. Feedback so far has been very
positive.
A switch to electric vehicles would contribute greatly
to the University’s target of making a 33% reduction
in its institutional carbon emissions by 2020. The
vans' running costs – estimated at around just 2p
per mile – could also deliver a saving of £1,500 in
fuel costs for every 10,000 miles travelled, compared with existing diesel-powered vehicles. And
although charging points have to be factored into
journeys, the extensive infrastructure of fast
chargers available around the city makes this easy
to do. With careful planning long journeys are also
possible.
nationally for my work. Green Impact offers a unique
opportunity to raise awareness of environmental
pollution, cut down waste and make sensible use of
electricity and water. I love being part of the Green
team and would encourage others to get involved
and work alongside like-minded people all striving
for the same goal.’
To find out more about getting involved with Green
Impact in 2015, look at our awards video, log in to
the University of Oxford’s Green Impact page or
read about the Department of Chemistry’s experience in the Oxford Mail. To contact the team about
taking part in Green Impact, email
sustainability@admin.ox.ac.uk.
Contribution to Green Guide for Universities
The International Alliance of Research Universities
(IARU) is an association of ten of the world’s leading
research Universities (including Oxford) which,
through its commitment to environmental matters,
has established a Campus Sustainability
Programme. The association’s October 2014
conference in Copenhagen – under the theme
Making Universities Sustainable – saw the launch of
its Green Guide, which presents key issues,
recommendations and lessons learned by the IARU
universities. It addresses the challenges and
To find out more, contact Ed Wigzell, Travel Officer.
opportunities of campus sustainability, with a
Green Impact triumph in national awards
particular focus on environmental aspects, and
includes over 20 inspiring cases that have made a
Green Impact is a national environmental
accreditation scheme that supports the University’s difference, including those from Oxford on
sustainable building and business travel projects.
initiative, led by the Environmental Sustainability
team, to take simple but powerful actions to improve Tom Heel, Sustainable Building Officer, also
environmental performance across our
presented at the Conference about the University’s
departments. Katrin Dulitz Green Impact
experience of working with the BREEAM
methodology and our journey towards achieving our
Katrin Dulitz, a student from the Department of
33% carbon reduction target for 2020.
Chemistry’s Green Impact team, received a Highly
Commended award in the Student Leadership
category at this year’s national Green Impact
Special Awards. Katrin was recognised for
successfully encouraging members of her
department to switch to using compostable takeaway food containers and recyclable cups, as well
as being responsible for introducing healthy options
into the vending machines. Her enthusiasm has now
sparked investigation into the feasibility of a
departmental drink discount scheme for people who
reuse their mug instead of using disposable cups.
Katrin said: ‘I’m delighted to be recognised
Annual Customer Survey shows
improvement in many areas
In September 2014 we conducted our second
annual customer satisfaction survey. It was
distributed to a total of 476 colleagues across the
University and generated a total of 127 responses,
giving us a response rate of 27%. The respondents
represented a variety of roles and functions within
the University including Departmental
Administrators, Facilities Managers, Building
Managers, Finance Officers, Heads of Department
and senior divisional colleagues.
certain areas and we look forward to sharing with
you our planned improvement actions in
early 2015.’
The full results will be made available on our
website shortly. In the meantime please contact Rob
Markham, Customer Service Administrator, if you
have any queries.
Japanese ‘National Treasure’ on a mission to
Wytham
One of Japan’s leading craftsmen – officially
designated a ‘national treasure’ in that country – will
soon be on his way to Wytham Woods to advise on
Respondents rated their agreement with a series of
the building and use of a Japanese wood-fired
statements relating to the services provided by our
kiln. In conjunction with the Anthropology
teams over the last 12 months, including how easy it
Department and Wychwood Pottery in Chipping
is to contact them, the quality of the information
Norton (which boasts the UK’s leading Japanese
provided, the politeness of our staff and the postpotter), the Woods is providing the site for
service contact and support available, among other
construction of two of these specialist outdoor kilns,
areas. We are pleased to report that we have seen
which are approximately five metres long – one from
improvements in many of the teams in Estates
willow and clay and a second using bricks brought
Services, in particular Electrical Services,
from Japan.
Mechanical Services and Security Services.
The kilns are unique in the colour and style of
Director of Estates, Paul Goffin,
glazes they create, due to a combination of the
commented: ‘Respondents also had the opportunity
wood burned, the gases produced and the high
to rate how they felt we performed as a department
temperatures reached. Anthropology staff will be
over the last 12 months, especially against our core
learning how to use the kiln, assisted by the two
values, and we are again pleased to report positive
expert potters. For their part, the Japanese
government is keen to
promote and export its
specialist craft skills, and
the kilns will form an
unusual new attraction
for its important local
schools outreach
programme during 2015.
results in many areas, especially openness and
transparency, and fair and equal treatment. We
recognise however that we still have work to do in
New management plan in place
Wytham Woods Conservator, Nigel Fisher, has
been working closely with Dr Keith Kirby, Associate
Researcher in the Plant Sciences Department (and
former government advisor on woodland
conservation), to develop a long term management
plan for the Woods. The plan, which takes a 100year view, establishes different zones across the
Woods’ 1000 acres and how these should best be
prioritised for research, conservation and timber
production.
Among the short term priorities for Nigel and his
team of foresters will be managing the threat from
Ash Dieback, a disease that has the potential to
affect 25% of the total Wytham tree canopy. The
disease causes leaf loss, crown dieback and bark
lesions in affected trees and is usually fatal. It has
already caused widespread damage to ash
populations across continental Europe and the first
case in the UK was confirmed in 2012.
University Parks hosts ‘Havel’s Place’
University Parks has
become the seventh place in the world to host a
‘Havel’s Place’ installation, designed to evoke the
memory of Václav Havel −
writer, thinker,
human rights activist and
President of Czechoslovakia
and the Czech
Republic – who died in 2011.
The imaginative installation,
designed by the Czech
architect, BořekŠípek, who was a friend of Václav
Havel, serves as a modest place of rest and
contemplation away from the hustle and bustle of
contemporary life and symbolises democratic
debate.
The Curators of the Parks rarely agree to memorials
or plaques being installed in the Parks, so it was a
significant event when a commemorative table with
a Linden tree sapling growing through the centre,
together with two chairs, were jointly unveiled by the
Vice Chancellor, Andrew Hamilton, the President of
the Oxford University Czech and Slovak Society,
Kryštof Vosátka, and Parks Superintendent, Walter
Sawyer. The Linden tree is
significant in the design for being the national tree
of the Czech Republic.
Oxford’s Havel’s Place is located to the west of the
pond in University Parks, overlooking both the pond
and the river Cherwell beyond. It joins installations
at Georgetown University in Washington DC, St
Patrick's Park in Dublin, the Catalan Parliament in
Barcelona,
Maltese Square in Prague, the University of South
Bohemia and the campus of Venice International
University.
New look Estates Services website
As you may have already seen, our new look
website is now live. The structure and navigation
has completely changed in response to extensive
user consultation with departments. The main
features are:
Enabling users to access our services quickly and
easily, from one of two primary navigation levels –
Our Services – as well as via a new A-Z of Services
function
Helping users to understand our role and remit within the University, from a primary navigation level
called About Us
Making it easier for users to select the helpdesk
function they need (FM Online or FacilityNet) and
providing help where they are unsure through a
central Estates Services Helpdesk number
Promoting key information, such as emergency/out
of hours contacts, on every page
Providing new content including a newsfeed,
organisation charts by team, and information about
our customer service approach.
We have already embarked on a programme of
additional content development over the next
couple of months including the introduction of a
glossary, new project case studies and key
personnel and team profiles.
The Communications team would like to thank
everyone who helped us with the consultation and
testing phases of the project over many
months. We would also like to invite all web users
to send your feedback, comments and ideas for the
continuing development of the website
to estates.communications@admin.ox.ac.uk.
Landscaping takes shape at Swindon Bookstore
Landscaping work is progressing at the Bodleian
Library’s Book Storage Facility on the outskirts of
Swindon, where the University Parks team has
been contouring spoil from site construction to
create a bund to screen the front of the building.
Nearly 900 tonnes of topsoil will have been spread
before the area is grass-seeded in the coming
weeks.
Similar work will be carried out to screen the sides
of the building and the team have been preparing
the ground with new topsoil ahead of planting over
30 crab apple trees, which, along with a display of
daffodils in the Spring, will enhance the site’s
appearance.
Two members of staff have been on site daily
during the contouring phase and following completion, the team expects to attend fortnightly for regular landscaping maintenance.
been completed. The 82 one and two-bedroom
refurbished flats in the East Block are bright, spacious and family-orientated and offer high-spec facilities, including Wi-Fi; there is also a nursery on
site.
The University Parks team is also nearing
completion of their landscaping work on the twoacre plus site, to replace worn out hedges (some
over 100 years-old), create new shrub borders and
lay over 600m of turf.
Head of Graduate Accommodation, Katie
Scheinkonig: ‘Unfortunately, the project did overrun so my team had to agree later start dates with
tenants in some cases and get tenants moved in as
quickly as possible. We also worked closely with
colleagues in the Capital Projects team to minimise
disruption to tenants while the work was completed
and with University Parks to reschedule the landscaping work.’
Despite the delays, Katie believes the new flats are
a great addition to the Graduate Accommodation
portfolio and have proved popular. ‘I am very
pleased with the occupancy levels we’ve achieved –
it was difficult to market the flats while work was still
going on – but the accommodation, and some
positive comments from tenants, speak for themselves.’
University Bus Pass Scheme goes online
“My wife and I are enjoying the very comfortable life
As part of the University’s commitment to
in Summertown House” – Takayuki Yamamoto,
developing and improving our systems, the process Graduate Student in DPhil Sociology
for applying for a new bus pass, topping up or
cancelling an existing pass, and reporting a lost or The Graduate Accommodation team manages 824
stolen pass, is now available as an online service.
units across ten sites across the city.
The system is designed to speed up the application Estates Services – our Values
process and to remove the need to print, sign and
Following consultation with our own staff and with
post hard copy forms. It also provides improved orthe Estates Services User Forum, we have
der tracking, automated receipts, order confirmation
and reminders for pass
renewals.
The service is available on the Estates Services
website here. For any queries, please contact
the FM Helpdesk.
Summertown House welcomes
graduate couples and families
A year-long project to improve and enhance
accommodation for couples and families at
Summertown House, on the Banbury Road, has
published our Values statement.
We aim to be an exemplary service department,
delivering the highest quality services to our
customers, in line with the overall strategy of the
University. We put customers at the heart of what
we do, and across the department you can expect
us to adhere to the following values:
Continuous improvement – using a variety of
methods, including measuring satisfaction, setting
challenging targets and monitoring our performance
against service level agreements
to assess perceived security risks, to prepare staff
to deal with foreseeable threats, and to take
appropriate action in a crisis situation. Having
already reviewed CTM’s security control plans and
governance procedures, Paul Sullivan, Head of
Security Services and University Marshal, visited
Kenya in August to assess the situation on the
ground and consider security recommendations for
the research and residential sites and in respect of
crime prevention.
Consultation – in order to provide a service that
meets the needs of our customers
Openness, transparency and clarity – about what
we do and how we do it
Timely services – delivered to mutually agreed timescales. Where this is not possible we will keep
customers informed as to why and when a
resolution can be expected
Fair and equal treatment – of all customers, staff,
partners and suppliers, recognising the value of
diversity
Wytham Appeal Fund supports conservation
projects
Listening – to feedback, suggestions and
Over the past few months the Wytham Woods team
comments, actively sought from our customers, and
has been undertaking a series of conservation
improving our services where practicable as a result
projects paid for through the Wytham Appeal Fund,
For more information, including our Mission and
which has been generously supported by permit
Vision statements, visit the new Customer
holders to the tune of £50,000.
Service section of our website.
These include maintenance of the Woods’ veteran
Security Services advises Centre for Tropical
oak trees. In a process called haloing, the team
Medicine in Kenya
has been removing competing trees around over
100 oaks, to provide literally a halo of light; the trees
Security Services have been assisting the Centre
are already benefiting.
for Tropical Medicine (CTM) with how they
discharge their duty of care to employees working in
Kenya. CTM – a collection of research groups within
the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine – has
two sites in the country: the Kenyan Medical
Research Institute (KEMRI) at Kilifi, on the Indian
Ocean coast, which employs around 25 University
staff who are resident in the area with their families;
and the National Public Health Laboratory in
Nairobi.
The team’s assistance was requested in light of the
increasing threat of terrorism in Kenya – as assessed by the British Foreign & Commonwealth
Office – and a widely-recognised growing crime
problem. As an employer, CTM has a duty of care
Elsewhere, areas of blackthorn are now being
coppiced (cut to ground level) to allow new shoots
to develop, providing Black Hairstreak butterflies
with their required environment for laying their eggs.
Ponds in the Woods are now being actively
managed. One pond has been extended, in another
invading willow trees have been removed, and in a
third a silt trap has been added so that open water
remains within the pond. It is hoped that this work
will also provide a greatly enhanced habitat for the
local great crested newt population. All the ponds
are spring fed and have minimal levels of pollutants
or nutrients – such ponds are increasingly rare in
our intensively managed landscapes.
Another funded project has been the restoration of
Marley Fen, an 8000 year-old peat habitat, which is
helping researchers to understand the environment
of Wytham Woods as far back as the last ice age.
You can catch up on developments on our latest short film – number five in the ‘Laboratory with
Leaves’ series. Number six – on bats – will be
available shortly, followed by a seventh, on the
subject of insects in the Woods.
Command & Control security system goes live
colleges, resulting in the creation of 3000 new
records which will further professionalise its control
room operations.
Central mail services update
Funding for the development of space for a central
mail hub has been confirmed and the design phase
for the refurbishment work is underway, with
completion due by Easter 2015. Temporary
relocation arrangements are being discussed,
although it is not expected that the work will have
any negative impact on service delivery.
The potential efficiency saving to the University is
estimated at £300k per annum if the central mail
hub is fully utilised by departments. The University
Messenger Service team, part of Facilities
Management, which will manage the service, will be
taking on a second, back-up franking machine from
within the University in a continuing effort to utilise
existing resources and save money.
Ten new internal departments have come on board
with the central service, including the Law Faculty,
the Museums and the School of Interdisciplinary
Security Services’ control room, based at the Old
Area Studies, and the team is continuing to work
Observatory in South Parks Road, monitors and
records images 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and with colleagues in Purchasing and contacts in Royal
365 days a year across the University’s CCTV net- Mail to reduce costs in areas such as duplicate rework. It also monitors and responds to all University sponse licences and centralised collection points.
fire and intruder alarms.
Several other departments have been in contact
In October, the team’s new online Command &
Control incident management system went into
operation, after two years of bespoke software
development.
Operations Manager Darrell Moss explains: ‘We’d
been using high-tech alarm and CCTV equipment
for many years but relied on pen and paper to
record what we were monitoring, with information
being held in various formats in different places. Our
new fully integrated system contains all of our
building and key-holder information and enables us
to log incidents quickly and consistently, provides
automated responses to customers following a
security response to alarm activation or other
incident, and much more effective auditing. Above
all, it means staff safety and the customer
experience is improved through better coordination
and response.’
As part of the project, the team has reviewed and
updated all the information held on departments and
with us for assistance in reviewing their existing
franking machine contracts. For more information
and advice, please contact Sarah King, Central FM
Services Manager.
Finance
Sarah Davies is Estates Services’ new Head of
Finance. She joined us in October from the
University of Liverpool’s Facilities Management
department where she was Head of Strategy &
Business Services following a period as Head of
Finance & Administration. She has also worked at
the University of Wales, Bangor in a finance and
systems role and is a member of the Chartered
Institute of Management Accountants. A graduate
biochemist, Sarah has also recently passed her
MSc in Real Estate from the College of Estate
Management at the University of Reading.
Environmental Sustainability
Head of Environmental Sustainability, Harriet
Waters, will be going on maternity leave from
mid-January. Tom Heel, Sustainable Building
Officer, will be managing the team during Harriet’s
absence.
There is also an addition to the team in
January. Lucinda Lay is joining in the new role of
Carbon Reduction Projects Manager and will be
responsible for delivering projects that will
contribute to reaching the University’s target for
carbon emissions reduction, ranging from insulation
programmes to the installation of large scale low
and zero carbon technologies. Lucinda will be
working closely with the Building Services and
Conservation and Buildings teams to ensure that
projects complement existing programmes.
Security Services
We are pleased to announce that Paul Sullivan has
been appointed Head of Security and University
Marshal, following a review of the role and its
interface with the collegiate University. Confirming
the appointment, Director of Estates, Paul Goffin
said: ‘I would like to thank Paul for so ably fulfilling
this key role in an acting capacity since August
2013. I and all my colleagues are looking forward to
continuing to work with him as we head into this
new year.’
Rob Harvey has been appointed Business
Administration & Personnel Security Manager for
the Security Services team, with responsibility for
vetting, administration and business planning for the
team. This is a new role and a promotion for Rob
who moves from his previous position as
Administration Assistant.
Asset & Space Management
Katie Scheinkonig has been appointed Head of
Graduate Accommodation, following a six-month
secondment from Balliol College where she was
Accommodation Manager. Katie will be overseeing
a number of workstreams aimed at developing the
team’s systems, processes and stakeholder
relationships during 2015.
Richard Bates is the newly-appointed Head of
Information and Space Management. In this new
role, reporting to Director of Asset & Space
Management, Carolyn Puddicombe, he will lead the
development of new tools and ideas to enable the
University to meet its expanding space needs,
including developing and maintaining the space
model, developing a space management policy and
reviewing the overall approach to information
management, information returns and
benchmarking.
Richard has moved from Kingston University where
he was Strategic Space & Delivery Manager and led
the development and implementation of space
management policy and processes. Prior to this he
held several roles at Roehampton University, most
recently, as Assistant Director of Management
Services.
Richard is responsible for both the Information
Management and Space Management teams –
more information about the teams’ remit and
the services they provide can be found on the
Estates Services website.
Wendy O’Connor joined the team in September
as Space Manager. Her previous role was Senior
Property Manager, covering Nottinghamshire,
Derbyshire and Leicester, at Community Solutions
Partnership Services Ltd, which works in
partnership with the NHS and Local Authorities to
deliver first class primary health and social care
facilities. Prior to that Wendy spent 19 years at the
University of Sheffield in strategic space planning
and management roles.
Iain Critchlow has moved from his previous role of
Surveyor in the Asset Management Team to the
new role of Space Manager – Options Appraisals,
having fulfilled this role on an interim basis for the
last three months. Iain will have primary
responsibility for undertaking options appraisals in
relation to the Capital Masterplan, working closely
with Wendy and the Capital Projects team. He will
also be closely involved with the periodic updating
of the University’s Estate Strategy, individual
campus and site masterplans and medium-term
capital projects planning.
Lucy Darnell has recently joined Estates Services in
the new role of Professional Services Surveyor,
reporting directly to the Director of Asset & Space
Management. Lucy will be dealing with a variety of
planning, property and estates management work
associated with the Medical Sciences Division,
including, acquisitions and disposals, rent reviews
and lease renewals, and options appraisals, and as
such will be responsible to and work closely with
senior officers in the Division.
Rebecca Horley is joining the team in January in the
new role of Town Planner. Also reporting directly to
the Director of Asset & Space Management,
Rebecca will coordinate all planning applications,
liaising with external planning consultants,
contractors, stakeholders and colleagues from
University departments, and representing the
University at meetings with the City Council,
Planning Committee and statutory stakeholders,
and at public consultation events.
Capital Projects
Jennifer Makreel joined the team in July in the new
role of Senior Project Manager & Deputy Head of
Capital Projects, reporting to Head of Capital
Projects, Richard Jones. Previously Property
Programme Office Manager at Oxfordshire County
Council, Jennifer also worked for many years in
Canada. Her principal responsibilities will be the
delivery of capital projects and initiatives, and team
performance monitoring.
Rebecca Baxter is the team’s new Capital Projects
Communications Manager. Joining in January from
her previous role as External Communications
Manager for the BMW Mini plant at Cowley,
Rebecca will be responsible in this new post for
providing dedicated comms support to the Capital
Projects team, including the ROQ and ORC/Park
Hospital sites, and advising on comms aspects of
significant planning applications.
200 graduates use new out-of-hours check-in
service
In order to provide a better, more flexible service to
graduate students arriving at Oxford, the Graduate
Accommodation Office joined forces with the Security Services team at the beginning of last term, to
provide an evening and weekend check-in service.
Over 200 students took advantage of this, a significant proportion of the 800 plus graduates that we
house in University accommodation each year.
Katie Scheinkonig, Head of Graduate Accommodation, explains what was involved: ‘We asked students to notify us if they wished to arrive out of normal office hours so that we could get all the documentation and keys ready. We handed all this over
to the Security Services team and advised our tenants to make their way to the Old Observatory
where they could sign their paperwork and collect
their keys.
‘What we hadn’t expected the Security Services
team to do was to provide a taxi service to tenants
and actually deliver them to their accommodation! However, this is exactly what they did in a
number of cases and it was certainly beyond the
call of duty – just amazing – we, and hopefully the
students, are very grateful to our colleagues!’
Katie and the team will be further streamlining the
check-in service for the start of Michaelmas term
2015.
‘Impressive’ partnership working foils burglar
trol Room received a call from the porter at Mansfield College who had noticed someone acting suspiciously in the grounds. Security Services patrol
staff attended and conducted a search, quickly located the man in possession of a rucksack containing a pair of bolt croppers and, having identified him
as a key police target, immediately contacted
Thames Valley Police who arrested him on suspicion of burglary.
Head of Security Services, Paul Sullivan: ‘Thames
Valley Police were impressed by what they described as an excellent College and OUSS response. The individual involved is a prolific offender
and is remanded in custody awaiting trial for five
burglaries relating to a number of different Oxford
Colleges. This incident also demonstrates the quality, attention to detail and professionalism of our
staff.’
Old Power Station response wins praise
High praise was received by the Security Services
team for their handling of the illegal occupation of
the Old Power Station in October, by a group campaigning about the housing crisis in Oxford. Following a court injunction, the occupiers left voluntarily.
Among the plaudits was this from the ViceChancellor: ‘Very well done to you and all involved.
This was a very well handled situation with an excellent outcome’. Similar thanks were received from
The Registrar and from departments, including the
History of Science Museum and the Museum of
Natural History, who use the building for storing
their collections.
Paul Sullivan, Head of Security Services and UniA recent incident provides further evidence of Secuversity Marshal commented: ‘Managing the occurity Services’ continually improving operational partpation was a challenge for us. Our staff had to be
nership with both the Colleges and the Police.
deployed 24/7 at the site with limited powers whilst
At around 9.45pm one evening in October the Con- we went to Court to secure the means to reclaim the
property. Our plans to repossess the property
worked well and with the minimum of fuss. My
team on site showed great commitment and patience in dealing with the situation.’
Central waste contract generates 23% savings
The introduction of the single supplier contract for
the disposal of non-hazardous waste – which came
into effect on 7 April 2014 – was the first mandated
single-supplier contract for any service within the
University. The roll-out involved the exchange of
over 1000 bins across the entire University over a
seven day period. This was a huge task but disruption was minimised through careful communications
and quick responses to queries.
Whilst there were lessons to be learned, the majority issues of were resolved swiftly or a plan was implemented to resolve these as an ongoing project. Both departments and the supplier, Select Environmental, have made changes to ensure the service has been successful.
The latest University City Crime Statistics for England and Wales, ranking the safest and riskiest Universities for student related crimes, has ranked the
University of Oxford in sixth place among the 120
entries, climbing 25 places since the previous
year's rankings. A key factor in achieving this higher position is the large reduction in property crime,
most notably in the theft of cycles.
A significant factor in reducing the volume of cycle
thefts is encouraging the use of bike D-Locks. Security Services sell good quality D-Locks for the discounted price of just £15 to staff and students and
sold its 1,000th lock at the UAS Conference in October: to celebrate this milestone, the team gave
the lock free-of-charge to Joanne Cave, a second
year Master’s student at St Johns College.
Since then, over 1358 D-locks have been
sold. University staff and students wanting to purchase a lock can call the team on (2) 72944.
Wytham Woods – never off the telly!
The entertainment world continues to beat a path to
All departments and buildings are now receiving a Wytham Woods. Over recent months, episode two
monthly report about their recycling rates, the quan- of Ray Mears’ Wilderness Walks series (ITV 14 October) featured a canoe journey along the River
tities each waste stream generates by weight and
Thames during which Ray camps in Wytham
the number of lifts required to generate the
Woods, described as ‘one of the world’s most preweight. The data from these reports will allow the
University to work with Select Environmental to re- cious and exclusive woodlands’.
duce the number of containers required and so reAnd if you saw Countryfile on BBC1 on Sunday 19
duce the number of waste collections and the assoOctober you would have found Matt Baker heading
ciated CO2 emissions of their collection vehicles. A
off to the Woods to take part in a citizen science
number of departments have already been approject aiming to identify the first signs of autumn,
proached to rationalise their bin collections.
taking an autumn health check of the woodland and
A review of the spend to date has shown a saving
revealing how the conkers of horse chestnut trees
to the University of 23% against last year. Consoli- are under attack from an army of tiny predators.
dation of lifts and increased awareness about the
waste we generate will increase this saving further. Prof Jim Al-Khalili has also been filming in the
In addition, Select Environmental plans to introduce Woods for his BBC4 series on Bio Quantum Mechanics; the relevant episode was broadcast on 17
hybrid electric vehicles to reduce CO2 emissions
December.
during the collection of waste disposal containers.
Wytham Woods Conservator, Nigel Fisher, has
Bulb planting reaches an all-time high
been interviewed recently for the BBC Radio 4
The Parks team has broken all records this year,
having planted 75,000 bulbs across 30 sites around ‘Living World’ series, talking about the history of
the University, including daffodils, hyacinths, tulips science in the Woods in relation to small mammal
and crocuses. They have also been planting spring research. Nigel was also featured in the University
Life column in the Oxford Mail in November. He dis-flowering plants on a large scale, all home-grown
in the Park’s nursery: 4,500 polyanthus, 1000 wall- cussed his work as manager of one of the most
studied habitats in the world, the longest-running of
flowers, 800 forget-me-nots, 1000 pansies and
which is the blue and great tit studies which began
1000 daisies.
in 1947.
Improved national ranking for Security Services
pand and for effective cataloguing; improved facilities for research, including PC access to the library
FM team reaches awards final
catalogue (and other systems) and high volume
The Estates Services FM team were finalists in the and large format colour scanning up to A0 on site
British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM)
Awards in the In-house FM Team of the Year cate- To send an information request please contact the
Information Management team
gory, announced in October.
at: estates.library@admin.ox.ac.uk.
Liz Kitchener, Head of Strategic Facilities ManagePhase 2 of the project will involve the moving of
ment, comments: ‘We were delighted to have
information from the asset management library
made it to the final stages. The team has procurrently located at Ewert House and the digitisagressed rapidly over the last few years and this
tion of all hard copy documents.
formal endorsement and recognition from the
BIFM of our achievements so far, is a credit to the
professionalism, hard work and dedication of everyone in the team.’
Success in Green Gown Awards 2014
The Environmental Sustainability team was Highly
Commended in the 10th annual Green Gown
Awards.
The award in the Carbon Reduction category was
made for the team's work on energy reduction for
the Bodleian Libraries, which resulted in annual
savings of £168k. The project involved close collaboration with the Libraries and with Estates Services’ Building Services team, and covered a mix
of complex and challenging buildings. It is now a
flagship project for the University’s work on carbon
reduction. The Green Gown awards recognise the
exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the UK.
Oxford Preservation Trust Awards 2014
Estates Services projects scooped both a Plaque
and a Certificate in the 2014 Oxford Preservation
Trust Awards' Building Conservation category.
A Plaque was awarded for work to conserve the
glass roof covering the Museum of Natural History.
This project not only dealt with the cleaning and
preservation of 8,500 glass tiles, the decorated
timber and the ornate metal work decorating the
top of the supporting pillars but finally also put paid
to a 150 year old leak that had plagued the Museum.
In the Small Projects category, new access arrangements at the Radcliffe Camera were recognised with a Certificate.
The Examination Schools has also been recognised with a Certificate in the Building Conservation category for restoration work, managed by the
FM team, which returned the building interior to its
Estates Services Library moves to Osney Mead original 19th century colour scheme.
The Estates Services library has completed a
move to a dedicated space within the SERS Build- Emma Potts, Director of Student Administration
ing at Osney Mead. This former warehouse space and Services, commented: ‘This is testament to
has been fitted out from scratch to create a single, the fantastic work that Estates (and the FM team
comprehensive reference library for all the proper- within) have undertaken over the past four or so
ties in the functional and commercial estate, ena- years to restore the building, whilst also ensuring
that key teaching and examining activities are not
bling the existing archive to be moved from
compromised. As a result, we have seen a dracramped space at the Malthouse.
matic increase in the utilisation of the building,
The move involved over 4.5 million pages of mate- which has benefitted departments across the unirial comprising building plans, services and infraversity by providing space for other activities,
structure information, building histories, photowhere previously they might have used external
graphs, planning records, O&M manuals, and
venues.’
committee papers. The new library now provides
Finally, the Nuffield Department of Medicine was
a spacious, well-lit and secure working environment; archive-quality metal rolling stack (recycled awarded a Certificate in the 2014 Oxford Preservation Trust Awards’ New Building category.
from the Nuneham book store) with space to ex-
Capital Projects
Jennifer Makreel Jennifer Makreel joined the team in
July in the new role of Senior Project Manager &
Deputy Head of Capital Projects, reporting to Head
of Capital Projects, Richard Jones. Previously
Property Programme Office Manager at Oxfordshire
County Council, Jennifer also worked for many
years in Canada. Her principal responsibilities will
be the delivery of capital projects and initiatives, and
team performance monitoring.
Rebecca Baxter is the team’s new Capital Projects
Communications Manager. Joining in January from
her previous role as External Communications
Manager for the BMW Mini plant at Cowley,
Rebecca will be responsible in this new post for
providing dedicated comms support to the Capital
Projects team, including the ROQ and ORC/Park
Hospital sites, and advising on comms aspects of
significant planning applications.
Facelift for University Parks website
Estates Services’ Communications team are
working closely with Walter Sawyer, University
Parks Superintendent, and with the Curators of the
Parks, to deliver a new website to promote one of
the University’s most precious assets.
The unique, Grade II-listed space covers approximately 70 acres in the centre of Oxford, which are
easily accessible to residents, students and visitors
and frequently hosts charity and other events.
Wytham to host annual Royal Forestry Society
gathering
Wytham Woods Conservator, Nigel Fisher, will be
on his mettle in May when he plays hosts to over 80
of his peers as part of the Royal Forestry Society’s
annual conference. One of a week-long series of
events, a tour of the Woods will be the focal point as
delegates consider how to manage woodland in a
period of climate change.
Graduate Accommodation on the move
The Graduate Accommodation team, currently
based at Ewert House in Summertown, will be
moving to 6 Worcester Street early in January. This
will provide a more central location for graduate
students wanting to find out about the
accommodation available, for check-in and key
collection when they arrive in Oxford, and to tenants
with queries once they have moved in.
Location and contact details will be available on the
Graduate Accommodation website shortly.
And on that subject, the website will be undergoing
some redevelopment ahead of the start of
admissions in March. New photographs, floor plans
and more comprehensive information about each of
the accommodation sites are among the
improvements planned.
Second Annual SLO ConferenceSLO Conference
Security Services will be holding their second annual Security Liaison Officers Conference on Tuesday
Among the improvements planned for the website
31 March (9am-3.45pm) at the Andrew Wiles
are image galleries, to showcase the beautiful Parks
Building.
landscapes and borders, a revised structure and
SLOs, who are appointed by their respective
navigation, new content including FAQs, nature
trails and information about holding an event in the department, have security within their remit and
work in partnership with Security Services to
Parks, and space to display photos and memories
promote protective security. This includes
from the public about the Parks over the years.
information, personnel and physical security. There
are over 60 SLOs in place across the University.
For further information about the role of SLOs and
the Conference, email Lesley Nesbitt, Crime
Prevention Design Advisor or call her on (2)72943.
User Forum – 19 & 23 January
The Hilary term meetings of the Estates Services
User Forum will be taking place in January. We find
the Forum extremely helpful to working more closely
with divisions and departments, at a senior and
strategic level, and shaping and improving our
services to the University. With representation from
all four academic divisions, UAS, ASUC and
Continuing Education, the User Forum meets termly
and aims to:

provide an update on key current and
proposed developments

University, and a more detailed update on those
aspects of our remit that directly affect and are of
most relevance to Colleges: including
Environmental Sustainability, Graduate
Accommodation, Security Services, University
Parks, Asset Management and Space Management.
For more details, please contact Sarah Walton,
Head of Communications.
Estates Services induction – 23 February
Malthouse
Our next termly induction event is scheduled for 23
February, 11.30-1.30pm, at the Malthouse,
Tidmarsh Lane. We start with a short video
presentation explaining the remit of Estates
Services, then introduce our Heads of Service with
opportunities to ask questions, and finish with a tour
of the Malthouse to meet team members, including
a visit to the Joiners workshop.
enable our customers to provide face-to-face
The event is designed for Departmental
feedback to senior Estates Services managers
Administrators, Building Managers and Facilities

identify improvements to our services
Managers who are new to their roles – but all are

consider and discuss how we might change in welcome. Please contact the Communications
the future to reflect the needs of the University team at
estates.communications@admin.ox.ac.uk to book
Among the issues raised by Forum members at our
your place.
Michaelmas term meetings in October were:
equipment procurement within the capital project
management process, representation on Project
Sponsor Groups, the £100k limit on minor works,
and the availability of generators to cover
emergency power outages.
FM Forum - 5 February
The next meeting of the FM Forum takes place on 5
February starting at 12 noon. This termly (Thursday
Week 3) event is for Facilities Managers and
Building Managers and anyone with a responsibility
for delivering FM services within their department. It
provides information on FM initiatives as well as the
opportunity to share ideas and network. For more
information visit the FM Forum webpage.
Annual briefing for Colleges – 17 March
Following the very positive feedback we received
after the first briefing we hosted for College estates
and domestic bursars, Estates Services is holding a
second annual event on Tuesday 17 March 2015.
We will be providing an overview of strategic
developments within Estates Services and the