Concept designs for UNE Tamworth have been unveiled

The University's newest Vice Chancellor, Professor Chris Moran, was at Peel House on Friday, October 27, along with Architectus architects to reveal what could become the $36.6 million university at the old velodrome site on Peel Street.

"We're not going to build a Lego block," Professor Moran said of what big city universities built in the 1970s and 1980s usually look like.

Instead, according to Architectus architects Nick Elias and Angela Collings, there will be more "flow", with the concept designs creating an "emotion" and a "language" to reflect the landscape.

Plans show the exterior of the four-storey 2000 square metre building will be constructed using a variety of natural-tone materials, have a wavy roof, and large glass windows overlooking the Peel River.

An outdoor "amphitheatre" will create space for soaking-up the sunshine, outdoor activities or events, with a parking lot also flagged on the site.

However, there will be no onsite accommodation for rural or relocating students, which would put pressure on housing availability and affordability.

Professor Moran said the Tamworth UNE campus is expected to focus on educating locals already living in the vicinity and that cost was also a big reason why the university skipped onsite student accommodation.

"We wanted to put as much of the resources we had available into the building so we can have the student access and the community access, otherwise, we would have had a much smaller access facility," Professor Moran said.

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A video "fly through" of the interior of the building's draft plans shows student hospital beds on level one which are indicative of much-needed health courses.

Yet, Professor Moran could not reveal which degrees would be taught in the long-awaited university campus, though did say there could be short courses straight away.

Construction is expected to start mid-2024 after development approval has been granted by Tamworth Regional Council.

Since March, Architectus has consulted with students, First Nations representatives, the Tamworth community, UNE, Tamworth council, UNE reference group, Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson and New England MP Barnaby Joyce to discuss the projects, and gain their thoughts and ideas.

Gomeroi woman Catherine Trindall, one of the First Nations people with whom Architectus consulted, said "they have actually listened to the voices of the community".

"They just brought the environment and the river, the mountains and the valleys into what we envisioned, and it's perfect," Ms Trindall said.

Mr Joyce, who grew up in Tamworth when the population was only about 23,000 and later graduated from UNE with a Bachelor of Accounting in the late 1980s, said tertiary education is crucial infrastructure for a growing city.

"It's going to continue growing, it's going to hit 100,000, and we'll just grow on that. So we've got to have the social infrastructure that goes hand in glove with the city," Mr Joyce said.

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