Revamp of Wellingborough's Tresham campus on course for September opening

Work is on schedule for Wellingborough's newly refurbished town centre college to open in September to 1,000 students and staff.

The long-awaited refit of the tower block, part of a £10 million project, can now be seen and includes the Tresham College signage.

After officially declaring the cladding work complete, Wellingborough Council leader Martin Griffiths said: “This is amazing news for the local area on so many levels – opportunities for young people, future growth across north Northamptonshire, the local economy and jobs, life-long learning, and of course for Tresham College as part of The Bedford College Group.

"It also gives a clear message that Wellingborough’s doors are open as we continue to grow and prosper.”

Cllr Griffiths represents North Northamptonshire on the board of SEMLEP, which added £7.5 million from the Local Growth Fund skills capital investment programme to the project.

Joining him at the event was Lucinda Young, programme contracts manager of SEMLEP.

She said: “This is all about providing good quality facilities for people to come to learn and enjoy.

"We are working to tackle a big skills agenda for our area and The Bedford College Group has an important role in upskilling and re-skilling our workforces and young people about to enter the world of work.”

The Church Street campus has been partially open throughout the work but only for motor vehicle students.

It will now see the reintroduction of full-time courses including carpentry, plumbing, business, brickwork, electrical as well as access to Higher Education, early years and health & social care, and IT and computing.

Part-time courses in accountancy, counselling, preparing to teach (PTLLS) English and maths, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), HR (CIPD) and management and leadership (CMI) will also be available at the campus.

Open events will be held in the summer to welcome people into see the lower floors and sign up for courses in September.

The 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 SEMLEP following an application for funding through the Local Growth Fund.

College group CEO Ian Pryce CBE laid the first cladding panel late last year with project manager Mark Eustace.

Ian said: “We have added to the generous SEMLEP grant to complete this £10m investment in new facilities and courses which will be a tremendous lift for education in Wellingborough and the wider region.

“Further, it will be a great boost for the town centre to have this influx of new customers of all ages.

“We are grateful to the Borough Council of Wellingborough and its members and officers for all their help and support in this interim period."

Mr Eustace added: “We have improved an old building, recycled 150 tonnes of materials and at the peak had 70 working on site.

"We have given the site an extended life of 50 years which will be a great asset to the local community.”

In addition to the external cladding, internal works have been extensive including fitting a mezzanine floor in a main hall area.

There will be car parking on-site for 90 vehicles, including electric charging points, but the nearby bus stop and town centre location also makes it easily accessible.

Landscaping at the front of the building will be made possible with support from Wellingborough Council.

Tresham's next information event is being held on Tuesday, March 31, at the Tithe Barn from 5pm to 7.30pm.

Visitors can view plans of the new campus and find our more about courses being offered from September 2020.

For more information go to https://www.tresham.ac.uk/