The University of Derby has appointed the firm to build a new business school as part of its city masterplan.
Kier will be the lead contractor for the new Derby Business School, kickstarting the University’s wider city masterplan.
The University partnered with Stride Treglown for the design of the building.
Derby City Council’s planning committee approved the planning application in May 2022, and £70 million of private placement funding was secured in February 2023.
The school is expected to be a study base for 6,000 by 2030, and will provide a link between local businesses and the wider community.
Inside the project
The 9,317 sqm structure will include:
- 233-seat auditorium.
- Stock Market financial trading room.
- Creativity lab.
- Extended reality (ER) suite.
- Social study areas.
- Cafe.
Two levels of the building will be open to the wider business community, alongside students and academics.
Social value
Kier is working with the university and local supply chain partners to create new jobs and apprenticeship opportunities, 25 work experience placements and two graduate opportunities.
The firm has also committed to a minimum of 160 hours of charity and community volunteering, with regular site visits for students, staff and locals.
85% of the project spend will be within 40 miles of the development site.
City masterplan
The University aims to create to linked areas in the city:
- The Academic Zone, (which includes the new business school) centered around the University’s current Sir Peter Hilton Court site.
- The Enterprise Zone, based around the Princess Alice Court halls of residence and Enterprise Centre area.
On the business school, Dan Doherty, regional director for Kier Construction North & Scotland, said: “The business school is a key strategic project in the University of Derby’s City Masterplan and it marks the first project we will deliver for the University.”
Kier and the University of Derby were approached for further information.
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