Dear Colleague
Formal offer from MidKent College to purchase UCA’s Oakwood Park Campus
As you will be aware, on 31 March 2011 UCA received a formal offer from MidKent College (MKC) to purchase the UCA campus at Oakwood Park, Maidstone.
Since that date considerable work has been undertaken to investigate and consider all aspects of the offer. This resulted in a comprehensive report being submitted to the Board of Governors on Thursday 14 July for consideration and a decision.
I am now writing to inform you that the Board of Governors has decided to accept MKC’s offer to purchase the UCA campus at Oakwood Park, Maidstone. The Board of Governors has accepted the offer as it believes that it is in the best long term interest of the University, its staff and students; it is also in line with the 2008 Sustainability Plan and the strategy to move to a single campus by 2017 to which the University is committed.
The purchase is of the estate, buildings and grounds only and will not affect UCA’s academic business. Students starting or continuing on the Maidstone campus in September 2011 will be able to complete their qualifications there, on the courses on which they have enrolled, delivered by UCA staff. We will do everything we can to ensure they have the highest quality student experience over the next three years and remain in good standing throughout the remainder of their studies. We have been working closely with UCA staff and students to ensure planning is in place for the full operation of the UCA Maidstone campus.
To clarify the situation going forward, from this September MKC will lease an agreed area of space on the Maidstone Campus for the 2011/2012 academic year. In the Summer of 2012, MKC will purchase the freehold title. UCA will then lease the space it requires on the Maidstone campus from MKC for a period of two years before vacating the site at the end of the 2013/14 academic year.
If you have any specific concerns regarding this please do raise them with SMG members, your Head of Department, HR or your HR Business Partner. You can also email queries to the AskExec email. Further information will be posted to the staff portal starting from Monday 18 July.
Professor Elaine Thomas
Vice-Chancellor
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