THE NORTH’S Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey has announced a £16 million (€17.8 million) grant to support the creation of a major University of Ulster urban campus in Belfast city centre.
The funding will be used to establish a campus around the York Street area of the city that will increase student numbers from 2,000 to 14,000, with students transferring from the college’s Jordanstown campus on the outskirts of Belfast.
“This planned major development will be the biggest development the city centre has seen since the iconic Victoria Square. The development will bring many benefits beyond the university and will be a welcome boost for our currently beleaguered construction industry,” said Sir Reg.
The University of Ulster’s vice chancellor, Prof Richard Barnett, said the college now looked forward to the development of a “new, vibrant city centre campus in Belfast which will make a meaningful difference – not just to the lives of people in this city but the lives of people across the province”.
“This marks another important milestone in the development of a new greater Belfast campus,” he added.
“This is not only good news for higher education. The new campus we are developing will play a significant role in the academic, cultural, social and economic regeneration of the city of Belfast,” said Prof Barnett.