About 300 staff and students are settling in at the newly refurbished town centre site.
Wellingborough’s new campus has opened its doors to staff and students for the start of the new term. Some 300 staff and full-time students are already settling in at the newly refurbished Wellingborough campus of Tresham College, with hundreds more part-time and adult learners set to follow as the term progresses. Ian Pryce CBE, principal and chief executive of The Bedford College Group, which has undertaken the £10 million project to modernise the tower block and ground level site, said: “Despite all the challenges of the lockdown our estates team and their contractors have kept the main works of the refurbishment on schedule.
The development has promised to deliver a ‘good mix of both private market and affordable housing’ with homes ranging from one-bedroom to five-bedroom properties, including apartments, terraced, semi-detached and detached designs. Two schools, shops and a business park have been planned with almost half of the site designated as open space providing a mix of mature existing woodland, wildflower meadows, grassland areas and open space including family play areas. All of the open space has been ‘strategically planned and linked throughout’ by an extensive network of cycle and pedestrian routes.
“The world has changed beyond measure since we started the building work, but, our mission remains the same and is more important than ever before. “We are here to offer world class training and educational opportunities to young people seeking their first jobs and also to their friends and families, who need new skills in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.” Wellingborough campus is part of Tresham College which merged with Bedford College to form The Bedford College Group in 2017. The group was awarded £7.5 million from the SEMLEP Local Growth Fund skills capital investment programme for the Wellingborough project.
Amid changes to local Government roles, Cllr Martin Griffiths, a SEMLEP Board member, has been behind the Wellingborough project from the start. The leader of Wellingborough Council said: “This is one of the most significant developments to take place in Wellingborough for many years, which will provide residents with access to further education here in Wellingborough. “Councillors and officers have been working closely with colleagues at Tresham College, and SEMLEP which has provided funding of £7.5 million through the Local Growth Fund, to deliver this ambitious project and I would like to thank everyone involved. “I look forward to seeing this brand new facility being fully open in September which will complement the regeneration of our town centre, and the high-quality redevelopment will enhance this area of the town. “The college will play a crucial role in our town’s economic recovery from the current pandemic but providing opportunities for our residents, and encouraging visitors to our town.”
Posted by Northampton Telegraph, Tuesday, 22nd September 2020
