Work underway on £20m redevelopment of Coleg Cambria’s Wrexham campus

A multi-million pound redevelopment of a Wrexham college campus is underway.

The major revamp at the college’s Yale site, based in Wrexham town centre, includes a new three-storey, 96,000 sq ft building which will house a 200-seat conference hall, restaurant, and sports facilities.

Demolition work at part of the site is already underway and is expected to last for 10 weeks. This will be followed by the foundation work, which will continue until June.

Last week saw the official turf cutting ceremony at the site to mark the start of the works.

Wynne Construction are overseeing the £20 million development, which will employ between 400-500 construction workers. Around 150 workers per day based on the 8,000 sq m site at the peak of construction.

The new campus is scheduled to open in time for the 2020/21 academic year.

Wynne Construction will be offering work placement opportunities, site visits for students and local Wrexham schools, and will maximise on employing local contractors throughout the project. This will include opportunities for apprentices and further training for workers on the project.

David Wynne, quantity surveyor at Wynne Construction, said: “The project has been designed over the past few months, and is adopting the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process. We have embedded local key supply chain members within our design process ensuring full coordination, giving the project a head start.

“This will be one of our flagship projects, and by utilising BIM on the project, we are able to plan ahead for the entire construction phase, which will allow us to improve on efficiencies, reduce waste produced on site, and also costs for the client.

“One of our main challenges is that it’s a live site and we will be sharing the campus with students and staff, so hoarding has been erected around the demolition area, and we are managing all deliveries onto the college grounds.

“We’re pleased to once again be working in Wrexham, and will be inviting local contractors and suppliers to work with us.”

The project is the latest contract in the education sector for Wynne Construction following its completion of a £14m sixth form centre in Deeside, and a £3m business school in Northop.

It is also the award-winning company’s third major build in Wrexham within 12 months, after its completion of Coleg Cambria’s £10m Bersham Road site, and the £4.5m Tŷ Pawb development in 2018.

The firm, which operates throughout North Wales, Mid Wales and the North West of England, regularly leads on projects in sectors including education, healthcare, and sport and leisure.

In November 2018, it was named SME of the Year (up to 250 employees) at the UK-wide Constructing Excellence awards.