Adult education centre up for sale in college overhaul

The grade two listed Victorian Batley Centre building, sits on a 1.28 acre site on Cambridge Road in the town.

Kirklees College, which owns the site, is building new £70m premises in Huddersfield.

The building is currently home to Batley Centre, which houses the college’s business development and training unit as well as a number of evening classes.

The college said the centre’s services will be split between a number of other community centres in the area once the building is sold.

Mike Haigh, of Dove Haigh Phillips, which is marketing the building, said: “The Batley Centre will be available for sale as part of the Kirklees College reorganisation.”

The building, which was the former Technical School, is about 27,400 sq ft with up to 75 car parking spaces.

Mr Haigh said there was no price guide for the building because there were a number of potential uses for the site, including creative media space, offices, management training centre, educational use and residential.

He added: “Internally, it is a very beautiful building which due to its former use has great natural daylight.”

Peter McCann, principal and chief executive of Kirklees College, said: “The centre has been used as an adult education centre, but the college is looking to expand adult education in Batley through greater partnership and collaboration with the local authority and community group centres.

“This method of provision has proved more successful in reaching all parts of the community and will be the focus going forward.”

The main campus of Kirklees College in Huddersfield, which is based on New North Road on the western side of the town’s ring road, was put up for sale last year.

It has occupied the 6.1 acre site since the 1960s and part of it was the original Huddersfield Hospital.

Again, there was no price guide for the campus because he said there were a number of potential uses for the site, including hotel, leisure, residential and business.

In addition, adult education centre The Manse, based on New North Road, is up for sale.

Since 2008, when Kirklees College was formed by the amalgamation of Huddersfield Technical College and Dewsbury College, The Manse has been used as a hub for adult education.

The centre closed at Christmas as part of the college estates’ strategy to prepare for the move to the new building. Classes and administration were moved to the main New North road campus and from September this year to the Waterfront.

The new college on Chapel Hill will open its doors in September 2012. The campus will sit on a triangle of land between Chapel Hill, Manchester Road and the River Colne.

Work began on the project in April 2010 and the building is due to be handed over in July this year, ready for the September opening. The development is the key part of the Waterfront site project, set to breathe new life into the area.

Kirklees College is also looking to make £3m savings after a government funding squeeze led them to make decisions to centralise services.

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