Sheffield University: £86m 'super-lab' shelved over £50m funding crisis
A flagship £86m Sheffield University ‘super-lab’ has been shelved due to a funding crisis.
The university said the Central Teaching Laboratories would be paused for one year.
But it remained a “strategic priority” because it was intended to attract the best students.
The shock move comes after the institution announced it was facing a £50m financial shortfall over the next two years, partly due to a 2,200 drop in international students paying fees of up to £29,000-a-year.
To save money it has offered academic and professional services staff voluntary redundancy, asked colleagues to minimise discretionary spend and paused infrastructure projects. But it has “no plans” to close departments or courses.
The university had hoped the super-lab, on Upper Hanover Street, would be ready for the start of the 2027 academic year.
It is set to include a five-storey building, 'pocket park' and parking.
It would have two 300-student laboratories and accommodate lab teaching for the Faculty of Science, the Medical Teaching Unit, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and facilities for medicine, dentistry and health.
A planning report states: “The proposed CTL building represents a significant investment of approximately £86m by the University of Sheffield towards improving and consolidating its campus-wide teaching laboratories.
“This investment will further strengthen the university’s educational offering and the prominence of the education sector to the city economy, as well as continuing towards promoting its reputation as a global ranking university.”
Sheffield Tree Action Group has protested at proposed tree felling to make way for the building.