A master plan for the relocation of the University of Tasmania campus is expected to be completed by the end of March as the project enters the next phase of planning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The plans will be developed in a collaborative project between UTAS and the City of Launceston council to help fast-track the move from Newnham to Inveresk.
The revamp and relocation of the campus is not just about bricks and mortar but about the future of education in Northern Tasmania.
That’s something that recently appointed Northern Expansion Transformation Project director James McKee believes in passionately.
Mr McKee was appointed to his role in October and will oversee both expansion projects at the Newnham and Burnie campuses of the university.
“I have been in Launceston for 11 years and I have developed a real passion for this project,” he said.
“I have three young kids and to be able to provide opportunities to have excellence and an opportunity to stay and do something at a top level is a personal aspiration for me.”
Mr McKee has a background in agricultural science but was recently working in Launceston at the Coordinator-General’s office.
He said the Northern transformation project was one of the biggest projects the university had undertaken and was definitely the largest for the North.
“We are building a new university in many ways, not just a campus,” he said.
“I think one of my observations is that it’s difficult for people outside the university to understand the size and complexity of how the uni works.
“Coming from the outside it’s useful for me because I can convey to people what the challenges are.”
Mr McKee said one of the aims of the project was to include extensive community consultation, with the next phase to start after the master plan has been released.
After consultation, University architect Kirsten Orr will work with the project team to prepare a design brief.
Professor Orr said the design brief would take into consideration the heritage value of the existing site as well as particular site challenges, such as the site being on a flood plain.
Early works on the move are expected to begin by the end of the year.
Read more about the University of Tasmania’s Northern expansion project in Wednesday’s Examiner.
RELATED STORIES: