Boldon House

Status: Purchase complete, refurbishment underway

We are investing in our staff and the facilities available to them. As part of this, and in line with our space management requirements, we have acquired Boldon House in Pity Me, Durham to gain the required space to enhance the academic and student experience on-campus and better support our staff.

Even with our new hybrid working model, we could not accommodate our current plans without acquiring additional space. However, we do not have space on our existing campus to build anything new of this size.

Boldon House gives us an opportunity to relieve some pressure on space and deliver a better experience for staff and students, taking into account the impact on the communities with which we engage.

Timeline

• Staff consultation: March 2022 onwards 
• Internal building works and refurbishment: January 2024 onwards
• Planned relocation date for teams moving into the building: Early 2025

Latest update

Refurbishment work has begun at Boldon House to provide additional office space for Durham University. 

We have been working with contractors on plans to upgrade the building and design modern workspaces for staff within our Professional Services teams.  

The main contractor started on-site with preliminary work on 22 January. 

Once completed in December, the former Northumbrian Water headquarters near Durham’s Arnison Centre, will provide an office base for a range of non-teaching University staff. 

We acquired Boldon House in 2022 and planning applications have been submitted to Durham County Council to carry out a range of refurbishment and modernisation work. This includes re-modelling the office and support spaces inside Boldon House, work on the car park and grounds, and plans to make it one of the University’s most environmentally sustainable buildings. 

Boldon House will provide the workspace that we need to deliver an improved work experience for Professional Services teams, including staff from HR and Organisation Development, Finance and Procurement, Estates and Facilities, IT and Marketing. 

David Loudon, Director of Estates and Facilities, said: “Over the past few months, we have spent a lot of time with the main contractors looking at the designs, developing timescales for the project and devising accurate project plans.  

“The start of work on-site is a major step in the re-development of Boldon House which will see this landmark building occupied by non-teaching colleagues who currently work in buildings across our main campus. 

“This is a major scheme for the University which will upgrade the building and bring it back into use. The work will secure Boldon House’s future and bring a range of benefits to the local community, including increasing opportunities for businesses in the area during the building’s development and when our colleagues make use of local facilities once they move in.” 

We have also been awarded £1.13million for the installation of energy saving measures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in a scheme delivered by Salix Finance.  

The funding will be used to install a range of Carbon-reducing measures as part of the refurbishment work.  

The government funding will help to replace the current gas-fired heating system. Brand new air-source heat pumps will be installed alongside solar panels, improved roof insulation and updated windows.  

News

• £1.13m grant to support Durham University carbon reduction project