Restructuring CEH
In March 2006, NERC announced a major restructuring programme for CEH: from 2006 to 2010, four of the eight science sites will close, with the majority of staff being relocated to the remaining four sites at Wallingford, Lancaster, Edinburgh and Bangor. Staff will benefit from the additional interactions and opportunities that larger multidisciplinary sites will offer. The Director's office and central infrastructure functions will be relocated from Swindon to the new HQ in Wallingford. Staff numbers will reduce from 600 to around 450 over the same period.
Latest News
July 2009
Activities at CEH's Oxford site finished on 30 June 2010. Continuing science has been successfully transferred to the retained CEH site Wallingford. Scientists at Wallingford are now utilising the 'Chiltern Wing' - a new suite of laboratories completed in Spring 2010.
September 2009
The Transition & Integration Project Board has agreed a closure date for our Oxford site. The site closure will be on 30 June 2010, with all scientific work either transferring to Wallingford or being completed by that date.
January 2009
Science activities at Monks Wood finished on 31 December 2008. Continuing science has been successfully transferred to the retained CEH sites at Lancaster, Wallingford, Edinburgh and Bangor.
July 2008
A small number of CEH staff have been working, on a temporary basis, from the Freshwater Biological Association’s River Laboratory in Dorset. This arrangement was made to allow the completion of several vital science projects and was always planned to end in Spring 2009.
Work will be completed or be transferred to Wallingford by 31 March 2009, with the exception of the river invertebrate audit for UK agencies work, which will continue for a further two months until 29 May 2009. Infrastructure staff will remain until 30 June 2009 to complete the move.
June 2008
Planning permission has been granted for two major developments at CEH’s Headquarters at Wallingford in Oxfordshire. Construction of a ‘Grodome’ plant cultivation facility begins this month. The anticipated completion date is December 2008. Construction of a major new laboratory building will start in late 2008. The planned completion date is early 2010. Other developments at Wallingford include a new cycle shed and expanded restaurant facilities.
Link to Full news story.
March 2008
The Transition & Integration Project Board has agreed a closure date for our Monks Wood site.
Full closure of the Monks Wood site will take place on 30 January 2009. Project-based science activities will finish prior to this date. Transferring staff and continuing science will relocate to the retained CEH sites at Lancaster, Wallingford, Edinburgh and Bangor.
November 2007
CEH’s Banchory site closed on 30 November 2007. Staff remaining with CEH will relocate from Banchory to CEH’s Edinburgh site. Integration at the Edinburgh site will be made easier by the provision of new purpose-built office and laboratory facilities. These facilities were completed in October 2007 on budget and on schedule.
October 2007
Wallingford became the Headquarters of CEH on 1 October 2007 with the relocation of the Director's office from Swindon. CEH's office at Swindon closed on 30 September 2007. CEH's Finance, People and Skills, Facilities Management, Computer Support, Knowledge Transfer, Health and Safety and Quality Assurance operations are now focused at Wallingford. This change brings CEH's infrastructure management teams closer to the organisation's world-leading Science Programmes.
Link to Full news story.
September 2007
The Transition & Integration Programme, focused on the restructuring process, is managed by a dedicated team based at the Wallingford site. The programme has recently been reviewed by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in order to assess whether CEH is likely to succeed in achieving its expected outcomes.
After an extensive review and numerous interviews with staff, trade unions, internal and external stakeholders, CEH is pleased to report that the programme received an overall rating of Green. In Gateway terms this is the best possible outcome and indicates that the programme is on target to succeed. The review process has also provided CEH with useful guidance and recommendations for taking forward the restructuring programme.
Link to Full news story.
May 2007
The Transition & Integration Project Board has agreed closure dates for our Swindon and Banchory sites.
CEH's Swindon office will close on 30 September 2007. The corporate office at Wallingford is now open: Finance, Knowledge Transfer, Personnel and Health & Safety teams have moved in already, and others will do so over the coming weeks.
CEH's Banchory research site will close on 30 November 2007. Banchory staff staying with CEH will move to Edinburgh, where building work to provide new office and laboratory facilities will be complete by the end of September.
March 2007
The structure of the new science teams has been decided and senior science leaders (Section Heads) have been appointed.
- Dorset site closure is now only three months away. Some staff will transfer to Wallingford in advance of the formal closure date of 1 June 2007. A small number will move to temporary accommodation in Dorset to complete vital science projects.
- There are plans for building work at several of the retained sites to ensure space and facilities are available for the new sections and staff relocating from closing sites. In Phase 1 of the development programme at Wallingford, offices have been refurbished to create a new corporate CEH area. This will be followed by refurbishment of other areas within the main building. Plans for a new development to accommodate science from the Biodiversity Programme are in preparation for Phase 2.
- Planning permission for an extension to our Edinburgh site was granted in January. The new build will enable Edinburgh to house the additional scientific staff moving from Banchory and Monks Wood. It is expected to be complete in September 2007.
- We are sadly having to say farewell to many staff who are unable to stay with CEH. We wish them all the very best for the future and thank them for all their efforts and support during their time with CEH. Some posts need to be replaced at the retained sites and a recruitment process is underway – see our recruitment pages for full details.
September 2006
The Transition and Integration Project Board has now fixed a closure date for the Dorset site of 1 June 2007. Staff relocating from Dorset to Wallingford will be provided with office and laboratory facilities on an interim basis by 1st June 2007 by refurbishing an area of our Wallingford site.
July 2006
CEH has produced an Implementation Plan for the period 2006 to 2010, which details the work to be undertaken by the four Science Programmes and supporting infrastructure. (Acrobat reader required)
Contacts
Head of Transition and Integration: Graham Leeks Transition and Integration Unit office, CEH Wallingford. Tel: 01491 692521; e-mail: TIU(at)ceh.ac.uk. Questions and feedback can be sent to the Transition and Integation Unit e-mail or via the Feedback link above. Press enquiries should be directed to our Press Officer, Barnaby Smith. Tel: 07920 295384. |
