Crumbling universities need £5bn, says study

British universities need more than £5bn to make their crumbling campuses safe and to modernise their facilities, a study suggests.

The research, commissioned by Universities UK and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, found that some universities were so dilapidated that students were being taught in dangerous buildings.

The survey found universities were teaching undergraduates in leaking buildings, with poor lighting and providing poor-quality drinking water.

A total of £5.1bn was needed to remedy the problems, the report said. It is the first comprehensive study of university teaching facilities. Universities also needed to spend £1.7bn a year on maintenance but were spending only about half that amount, said Jim Port, director of JM Consulting, which made the study.

The report criticised universities for not having built into their budgets adequate maintenance costs and said they should produce plans to upgrade teaching facilities.