Heriot-Watt puts up defences over 'worst university buildings in UK'

BOSSES at Heriot-Watt have defended themselves after new figures showed its buildings were in a worse state than any other university in the UK.

Surveyors judged more than 40 per cent of the university's lecture theatres, libraries and other non-residential buildings as "inoperable" and "posing a serious risk of major failure and breakdown".

But Heriot-Watt bosses argue that the full and thorough condition survey they had carried out on their buildings produced a "particularly rigorous representation" of the university estate.

The figures have come to light through freedom of information laws after a request was made to the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which compiled the database to help universities across the UK compare the condition of their estates with those of their competitors.

Other universities in Edinburgh fared much better than Heriot-Watt, with 100 per cent of Queen Margaret University's estate in the "as new" category.

Just four per cent of Edinburgh University's non-residential buildings were classed "inoperable", while this figure was only one per cent for both Edinburgh Napier University and Edinburgh College of Art.

Heriot-Watt University says it has carried out numerous estates projects and invested millions of pounds since the condition survey was carried out in 2006-7. These include building a 6.5 million postgraduate centre at its Edinburgh campus and developing a 31.4m co-located campus in Galashiels with Borders College.

University bosses say they have also invested 1.5m in services, including building alterations and improvements.

They have also completed a 3.5m programme to upgrade all lecture theatres and are in the process of a rolling 10m programme to upgrade all teaching facilities.

A spokeswoman for Heriot-Watt said: "In compiling these figures Heriot-Watt University undertook a full condition and compliance survey, rather than relying on spot sample surveys.

"In the four years since the survey, the university has undertaken estates projects, both completed and ongoing, totalling 52.9m."

The database reveals that in more than 90 per cent of universities across the UK, at least 10 per cent of buildings were below the "sound and operationally safe" category. One in ten universities had at least 10 per cent of its estate judged at serious risk of breakdown.