Boost for Suffolk university plan

More than 3,500 students will be taught on the new campus

A university is going to be set up in Suffolk after a make-or-break funding decision was announced on Friday.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has agreed to grant the project £15m, ensuring University Campus Suffolk (UCS) will go ahead.

Suffolk County Council has already pledged £13m towards the project to fund local learning centres and a central campus in Ipswich.

The aim is to have 7,500 students across the county by 2011.

'Highly significant'

A new university campus will be developed in Ipswich teaching more than 3,500 students.

A county-wide network of higher education centres, based mainly in further education colleges, will also be established.

The UCS proposal is a joint venture between the University of East Anglia in Norwich and Essex University.

Sir Howard Newby, from HEFCE, said opportunities would be created in the county for more young people to experience higher education.

"As one of the few counties in England without a university, we believe this development is highly significant," he said.

Mike More, chief executive of Suffolk County Council, said: "This is something that will mean so much to youngsters, young people and mature students across the county."

Richard Lister, of the University of Essex, said they wanted UCS to be significantly different to other universities, both in its buildings and teaching.

"When we look at the curriculum, what we teach and how we teach it, let's do something different, let's build the first real new university of the 21st century, not simply copy what's gone before," he said.