A planning application has been submitted for the next of ARU Peterborough, comprising a Living Lab and additional teaching space.

Plans for the multi-million-pound project have been submitted to Peterborough City Council for approval following a two-week public consultation.

The application is for the third phase of the ARU Peterborough university campus, on the north of the Embankment site, off Bishop’s Road.

Plans include additional teaching space aimed at students studying mainly science, technology, engineering and maths courses.

The application is likely to be considered in the next few months and the development, if it secures approval from council planners, should be completed in 2024.

Officials say the Living Lab will offer an open, interactive science centre and education space to creatively engage people in science and technology, and will be open to the public.

It will be open to the community, as part of a pedestrian-friendly campus, and can host of a range of potential events, exhibitions, immersive displays, talks, forums and evening classes.

It will sit on the site of the Regional Pool car park and next to the first teaching building, University House, which opened to students this month.

The second building on the developing campus, the Innovation and Research Centre, is under construction and should be completed later this year.

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, said: “With the university now open, the momentum in building a fantastic campus for the city does not stop.

“As well as this new extra teaching space, this Living Lab will be a fantastic attraction for the whole city, hosting a whole range of potential events, and further enabling the whole community to engage and be inspired by ARU Peterborough.”

Professor Ross Renton, principal of ARU Peterborough, which is a partnership between the Combined Authority, Peterborough City Council and Anglia Ruskin University, said: “These are exciting and innovative plans that support the development of a vibrant campus for the city.

“Our local community is at the heart of what we do. We already have developed an open campus, open to everyone to come and explore.

“Phase 3 of ARU Peterborough will develop this ethos even further with the Living Lab, which will be a hub for people from across the local region, and beyond, to engage with cutting-edge science and engineering, whether through talks, classes or exciting hands-on exhibitions.”

Funding is in place for the Living Lab and second teaching building, including £20 million from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Image source: ARU Peterborough

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