Work begins on Blackburn College's final two phases

11:08am Monday 4th August 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

PLANS to transform Blackburn College into a “world class campus” continue apace as work begins on the final two development phases.

With a combined value of £35million, phases three and four will see the creation of a mechanics workshop, and the construction of the new main college building.

The first phase was completed last September, with the opening of the £8.8million St Paul’s Centre for IT and sixth form facilities, while phase two, the construction of a £13million higher education building off Barbara Castle Way, is currently under way to be completed by August 2009.

Phase three will see the creation of a £4million, 2,500 square metre automotive centre housing a mechanical workshop, which will act as a commercial venture combined with teaching facilities.

Currently at design stage, the development is set for completion by September 2009.

The £31million phase four, which is still in its early stages, will see the construction of a main building comprising central teaching centre with performing arts facilities, sports hall, a learning resources centre and teaching accommodation.

The Manchester office of White Young Green (WYG) has won the contracts to deliver engineering for both phases as well as being consultant to the built natural and social environment.

WYG director Anthony Fuller said: “Having provided our engineering expertise on phase one, we are extremely pleased to be involved again, especially now the scheme is in the final phases.

“Working on the existing campus presents numerous challenges but our team is experienced at dealing with live sites and will utilise its knowledge to ensure minimal disruptions to the college’s day to day running will occur during construction.”

Rachel Curry, director of resources and estates at Blackburn College, added: “Having worked with WYG before, we knew its team would help us in our goal of delivering landmark buildings which will provide world class teaching facilities for our students.

“It is an exciting time as we have been focused on this redevelopment for a number of years and we are grateful to the entire project team for working to make it a reality.”