Demolition to start soon to make way for new £12.4 million Tresham campus in Wellingborough

Demolition work will soon start to make way for Tresham's new £12.4m campus in Church Street, Wellingborough
Building work is due to start this autumnBuilding work is due to start this autumn
Building work is due to start this autumn

Tresham had already secured £11.4 million funding for the project from the Northamptonshire Growth Fund supported by Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership and Northamptonshire County Council.

The project has been supported by Wellingborough Council and by using the college’s own resources, the new campus will now begin to be built.

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When complete, the new campus will provide learning opportunities for up to 600 young people and adults in the town, offering subjects such as motor vehicle technology, manufacturing and electrical engineering, creative media and games design, product design, forensic and medical science, and a maths centre to meet the skills gap identified in the north of Northamptonshire.

The new campus has been designed by Bond Bryan to accommodate the specialist vocational provision across the 3,600m2 site.

In February 2014, Tresham received planning permission for the new building and now the college has secured the funding for the project it is expected that the campus will open to students for the 2017/18 academic year.

Builders Wilmott Dixon have moved on site, although Tresham has already carried out extensive preparation work within the existing buildings so demolition can be carried out as quickly as possible and building work should begin this autumn.

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It is hoped that there will be minimum disruption to students and plans are in place to provide training at another Tresham campus or at an off-site location within Wellingborough while building work takes place.

Tresham principal Stuart Wesselby said: “We are delighted to be taking the first steps forward for Tresham’s new campus in Wellingborough which will be the final piece in the jigsaw to provide modern, fully equipped learning environments for school leavers, employees and adults in and around north Northamptonshire.

“Tresham is committed to creating learning opportunities for everyone and with the funding from the Local Growth Fund and Wellingborough Borough Council and support from Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership, Northamptonshire County Council we are able to move forward with this exciting new project for the town.”

Tim Bagshaw, head of business and innovation at Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership, said: “It is great to see the project getting under way.

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“This development will not only provide a major opportunity for young people and adults in Wellingborough but will also facilitate a learning provision leading to the closing of Northamptonshire’s skills gap both in the short-term and in the future.

“The positive impact of the new campus on the local community and the county’s prosperity as a whole will surely be felt.”

Cllr Matt Golby, Northamptonshire County Council cabinet member for children’s services, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting the development of a new Wellingborough campus for Tresham College.

“This will create learning facilities fit for the 21st century, giving over 600 young people and adults the chance to learn new skills and increase their employability.”

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Cllr Tom Partridge-Underwood, deputy leader of Wellingborough Council, said: “We are delighted to see this major redevelopment scheme getting under way.

“The borough council has felt for some time that redevelopment of the Tresham site would have a very positive effect not only on the provision of educational facilities for our young people but also in encouraging wider regeneration across our town centre.”