Construction of a major new college campus in the heart of Nottingham will start in the coming weeks, in what will be “one of the biggest education institutions in the country”.
A £58 million project to create the Nottingham College City Hub - a 15,490 square metre FE campus - is set to be completed by 2020, with building due to begin by August this year, according to the college.
It is being developed on a site in the southern part of the city and will be home to around 2,000 students.
Major FE centre
The six-storey building will be home to a range of curriculum areas including business, administration and computing, travel and tourism, science provision, some creative provision, catering and hospitality, care and early years courses, according to the college.
It will also house a café, training restaurant, performance theatre and business hub. Planning permission for the new campus was granted in February and Wates Construction is the main contractor being used.
John van de Laarschot, chief executive, Nottingham College, said: “It is our aim to bring to Nottingham something truly special, something more than a traditional college campus and which is a unique space in which business and education co-exist to the benefit of both”.
He claimed: “With the college’s plans for its other centres of excellence across the City Nottingham College will be one of the biggest and best-resourced education and training institutions in the country”.
Mr van de Laarschot added: “We’re confident that these plans will benefit not just our students, who deserve a first-class learning environment, but also local businesses and the wider community”.
Project funders
The college is putting £28m into the project, which includes a loan of £18 million from Nottingham City Council. The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, is providing the remaining £30m.
Matthew Wheatley, chief executive, D2N2 LEP, said: “The Nottingham City Hub has the potential to change the face of further education in the D2N2 area. By working to ensure that the qualifications provided and the students who study at the college are fit for industry, the Nottingham City Hub will play a full and meaningful role in the growth of the D2N2 economy.”
