en.Wedoany.com Reported - A £10 million donation from the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation will be used for the school construction redevelopment project at the former Menai College campus, which was unanimously approved by the Gwynedd Council Planning Committee this week. The school construction project involves the demolition and replacement of the rear section of the Friars Building, dating from the 1890s, which was most recently occupied by a school and subsequently by Menai College, which relocated to Parc Menai last year. The Friars Building will house Bangor University's Business School.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the full application for the school construction and the corresponding listed building application, with Councillor Edgar Wyn Owen describing the project as "very important for Bangor." DAY Architectural is the scheme designer, working in collaboration with teams including Stantec, Ascerta, Acer Ecology, EDGE, Claremont, Pick Everard, BWB Consulting, and Turley, who provided heritage consultancy.

The school construction proposal involves demolishing the two-storey rear portion of the Friars Building and replacing it with a 15,666 square foot two-storey building. The extension will feature a mix of light grey brick, red brick, and red aluminium panels. The main façade facing Ffriddoedd Road remains unchanged. To the west of the main building, the proposal includes the demolition of existing carports, removal of rooftop mechanical and electrical equipment, and installation of new ventilation louvres. The new extension will connect to the main building, with two pitched roofs echoing the ridge line of the main structure.

Officers recommended approval, stating: "The school construction proposal has been fully justified, respecting the building by positioning the modern extension to the rear and minimising internal alterations, while retaining and reusing features within the building." The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation donated £10 million to the university in February 2025. Albert Gubay, founder of Kwiksave, was born in North Wales and passed away in 2016.

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