THE University of Chester will move into County Hall in spring next year.
Vice-chancellor Professor Tim Wheeler said the move will act as an economic stimulus in the city.
He said: “The university is delighted to announce it has bought County Hall in Chester.
“This is not only good news for the university, enabling us to achieve the modest growth which is proportionate to the current and projected size of our student population and financially realistic, but also for the city.
“The university is one of the few progressive and thriving bodies in receipt of public funding during the recession and both its relative success and its commercial and cultural contribution should be celebrated as one of Chester’s major selling points.
“Acquiring such a building as County Hall in such a prime location is an unrivalled opportunity for the university to be represented closer to the city centre, as is the case with many other higher education institutions in historic cities.
“Each year, the university contributes approximately £135m to the local economy in financial terms alone and its student and staff carry out the equivalent of more than £80,000 worth of voluntary work.
“The university is at the heart of the community.
“The benefits of academic scholarship are evident locally in everything from our socially motivated research to the fact that about 50% of nurses employed at hospitals across the region and a high proportion of teachers employed in local schools were educated at the institution.
“County Hall will be a focus for two of our faculties which most directly relate to those public services.
“This acquisition mirrors that of Kingsway High School in 2006, now home to the Faculty of Arts and Media, in that it is a short distance from the main campus and will be non-residential.”
