New multi million pound town centre college campus gets Council green light
Multi-million pound plans to modernise a college campus in the heart of Wrexham town centre have been approved.
In August 2018 Wrexham.com reported that innovative plans to redevelop Coleg Cambria’s Yale Campus on Grove Park Road had been formally lodged with Wrexham Council.
The £20 million plans include the demolition of the ‘existing single and two storey buildings in the south east corner of the Yale Campus site.
They also include a new three-storey complex equipped with the latest digital technology, a 200-seat conference hall, meeting and staff rooms, a cutting edge study space, revolutionary sports facilities and IT suites.
Details provided in the application this summer, state: “The provision of improved educational facilities will support residents, encourage people to move into or commute to the area which in turn will support local businesses and thus the local economy.
“In the short term, the proposals will provide improved facilities for Coleg Cambria. This will enable a standard of education to be achieved, increasing student access to education and ultimately employment.
“In the long term, the proposals to improv teaching facilities will provide economic benefit to the local area via the increase in employment opportunities. The college works in partnership with over 1,000 employers across the region to deliver the skills required for employment.
“The proposals will also provide employment for those contracted to carry out the construction works.”
“As part of the proposals there will be a focus on the provision of facilities for hospitality and catering, sport, creative industries and media studies – with the existing historic accommodation described as being “inadequate for the current teaching requirements of these courses”.
Proposals for the Wrexham campus were unveiled at the start of 2018 with the revamp coming after Coleg Cambria announced £40m of modern new buildings in less than 18 months – including a £10m engineering technology complex and campus redevelopment on Bersham Road in Wrexham, and a £3.5m Business School in Northop.
Speaking in January Chief Executive David Jones said that if approved the plans “will be a shot in the arm for Wrexham and for the economy, as thousands of students and their families will benefit.”
The economic benefits the redevelopment will bring are mentioned in the application’s design and access statement, which says both long and short term benefits will be brought to the area.
With next week’s planning committee meeting documents being made public, the approval was revealed to have taken place last week under delegated powers.
It is thought that works will begin in 2019 and open in time for the start of the 2020/21 calendar year.
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