Bradford College

Bradford College New-build Plans Approved by Council

Plans for Bradford College’s new, £50 million building were approved by Bradford Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Committee earlier this week.

Having already received the go-ahead by the Government, the College now plans to appoint the main contractor to commence work on the site.

Work on the new 6-storey building, which will sweep up Great Horton Road providing an innovative and technology rich learning environment, will commence in June of 2012. It is hoped that the building will be ready by September 2014. Measuring 23,000m2 in size, it will be built on the College’s existing city centre site (Westbrook Building) and on the site of the former Randall Well Building.

The estimated cost of the project is £50 million and will be solely funded by the College in the form of £35 million bank loan provided by Lloyds Bank Wholesale Banking and Markets and the European Investment Bank and £15 million cash reserves accumulated from past and future years up to 2013.

The new build is the second phase of Bradford College’s Accommodation Strategy. The first phase involved the development of Trinity Green Campus in 2008, a state of the art building which houses the Engineering, Construction and Sport curriculum areas. The College’s sports facilities now feature in the London Organising Committee Pre-Games Training Camp Guide for the Olympics in 2012.

The aim of College’s Accommodation Strategy is to achieve efficiencies by reducing both the number of sites and overall quantity of space that it occupies by 33,000m2. Currently the College occupies 11 buildings with the vast majority requiring considerable investment to either improve their physical condition or their suitability for the changing needs of the curriculum.

The College’s new build will replace the Westbrook, McMillan, Appleton and Old Buildings. The Westbrook Building will be demolished and the remaining buildings will either be sold or put to other use. The College plans to retain Lister Building, The Grove Library, Bolton Royd and Trinity Green Campus.

Bradford College Principal and Chief Executive, Michele Sutton, OBE said:“It’s a very exciting time to be part of Bradford College. Our new, iconic campus will revolutionise our current estate, add to the regeneration of Bradford and provide a superb student experience. Students will benefit from the bringing together of facilities and curriculum into a single location, new styles of learning which embrace cutting edge technologies, realistic work environments that will be open to the public and opportunities to showcase learning activity through open plan areas.”

Councillor David Green, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Regeneration and Economy, said: “This new campus will put Bradford College in an even stronger position to support students’ learning and help them continue to make a vital contribution to the district in years to come.

“Following the opening of new student accommodation at the University of Bradford, the completion of City Park and the planned business growth zone, this new campus continues a trend of positive developments in the city centre.”

John Williams, Relationship Director, Lloyds Bank in Leeds commented:“We are delighted to be able to support this new campus for Bradford College which will be a real boost for the city. To have the opportunity to support such an important educational and community focused project is superb and we’re confident that there will be a big benefit to the wider local economy, the new campus will attract young people to Bradford and provide an excellent base to build skills for the future.”

• Gallery - artist impressions of the phase two development