Sustainable Venue or Space

Menai Science Park, or M-SParc, is Wales’ first dedicated science park.  With a focus on housing companies in the low carbon, energy and environment and ICT sectors, M-Sparc provides high-quality office, laboratory and workshop space with the aim of helping growth within these sectors.  The building and its tenants are built around both economic and ecological sustainability.  With a BREEAM excellence rating, the flagship building has been built on Green Infrastructure, with a sustainable travel plan in place, solar panels, passive heating and cooling systems, and a robust recycling strategy for tenants.

The project lives and breathes the ethos it wants for its tenants, which is to be sustainable in every sense of the word. Looking at the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act, M-SParc has addressed all the goals, and met them with its own targets, including business support for all tenants, improving diversity and equality, encouraging more women into science and entrepreneurship,  promoting the Welsh language, and ensuring the facility is fully accessible to all.  M-SParc has also adopted a strong environmental policy, and is establishing an ‘energy champion’ within the Facilities Manager Role.

The College Estates and Facilities Department at Coleg Gwent collaborated with external suppliers, contractors and students to develop a range of projects to help improve teaching areas, facilities and grounds.

At Crosskeys College, campus staff and Independent Living Skills learners (ILS) worked with the Estates team and the Leonard Cheshire Foundation to develop a section of unused land into a sensory garden with wildflowers, seating areas and raised planting beds for wheelchair users. The learners gained valuable employability and life skills including preparation of risk assessments, understanding of biodiversity, construction techniques and planning and ordering of materials.

All refectories have been refitted using partial investment by the catering contractor and more stringent tendering criteria has been adopted, which ensures sustainable and healthy food options and improved catering facilities at all five campuses, most notably at Usk Campus, which is also used by staff and members of the public utilising the Monmouthshire County Council buildings sharing the location.

A series of Higher Education ‘Hubs’ have been developed to give areas to learners for dedicated study and relaxation space.  This was done through refurbishment of an old lecture theatre, where many of the existing fittings were reused and ‘repurposed’ to provide the new space with a unique character.