After hearing from the University Executive Council (UEC), Durham University Council has recently voted to pursue a business case study for the relocation of Ustinov College from Howlands Farm to Sheraton Park (at Neville’s Cross) to make room for two Colleges currently at Queen’s Campus being relocated to Durham City during 2017–19.

The UEC has argued that Ustinov, as a postgraduate college, is the most suitable to move because Sheraton Park agreements with nearby residents cap the number of undergraduates to 60 per cent of the population, and nearby developments of suitable size will not be available until 2019. 

Students, staff, alumni, and supporters of Ustinov feel that the University’s dilemma with regard to the aggressive timing of the Queen’s Campus Colleges relocationو is hardly Ustinov’s fault. It is clear that the relocation of no other Durham City Colleges was considered, while Ustinov College has already been relocated twice in recent history: in 1998 and 2003. The proposed Sheraton Park site itself offers no permanency.

Nor can the move be explained as of strategic benefit to Ustinov, which has developed considerably as a College and a community since finding a home at the Howlands site. The community space available in Fisher House has played a crucial role in this, both as a place for academic seminars and conferences and for students to socialise either in the bar or café. To lose our home represents losing a central aspect of our identity as a College, and as a contributor to the intellectual standing of the University, as Durham’s postgraduate centre. Place is important.

The move is not detrimental solely to Ustinov members: there has been considerable opposition within the local community to the Sheraton Park site, as it is bounded so closely on all sides by residential areas. Local residents have made it clear they will oppose the provision of facilities at Sheraton Park that are central to a College, especially one so far from Durham’s centre, such as a bar for socialising, or even visitor parking.

Finally, we believe this move will do material harm to the University’s image, financial situation, and ability to provide an excellent student experience. Ustinov is the UK’s largest postgraduate college; its Howlands membership does not fit in the confines of Sheraton Park. The move can only be perceived as a decision to downsize, with an accompanying price rise. Rather than address the pressing University needs that Ustinov has offered to accommodate, such as postgraduate study space, the University is considering a smaller postgraduate site with even less space for study and social life, all due to the exigencies of the separate Queen’s Campus decision.

Yet there are other options, which we believe should be considered more fully by the University’s Council, and which we believe should be preferred to the relocation of Ustinov.

1.      Delay the Queen’s Campus move until the work on new student accommodation on the Mount Oswald site, adjacent to Ustinov, is completed in 2019.

2.      Temporarily redistribute Queen’s Campus Colleges members among all Durham Colleges, along with a ‘Welcome to Durham’ campaign to build inter-collegial experience.

3.      Make Sheraton Park an opt-in choice for members of Queen’s Campus Colleges, in line with local residents’ conditions. The site isn’t suitable as a location for an entire College but certainly postgraduate business students will find it appealing.

4.      Open Sheraton Park as postgraduate halls open to members of all Colleges, especially students preferring self-catered accommodation, who can still use the facilities their Colleges provide.