College’s £7.5m new centre takes off

the start of construction work to build Kirklees College’s new specialist engineering centre at a cost of £7.5m began yesterday.

College principal Peter McCann, head of engineering John Mills, Coun Peter McBride Kirklees, Kirlees Cabinet member for Regeneration and GMI managing director Jarrod Best celebrated the start of the next construction phase.

The ground-breaking event marked the end of remedial work which prepared the site by removing contaminated ground, and the start of the foundation work.

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The new building, which is due to open in September 2012 will provide engineering and motor vehicle students with up-to-date and modern facilities to learn their trade.

Kirklees Council agreed the planning permission for the college’s second new building in the town in May and GMI Construction began the preparation work in June.

The project is the second part of the college’s new building strategy that secured funding in 2009.

The college’s Huddersfield Centre at the Waterfront Quarter is already under way. The two buildings will replace the current site on New North Road near the town centre and which has been a well-known landmark for many years. Mr McCann, said: “This is an exciting time for our community.

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“The engineering and motor vehicle centre in Huddersfield will attract future generations of skilled workers to the region and will help to bolster the supply of much-needed specialist skills in this area.

“The college has just reported outstanding improvement in our student achievement and value added scores which are now in the upper quartile of performance after the disappointing performance of previous years.

“Even though we face tough financial pressures like many other colleges and public sector organisations, we believe this investment is a significant step forward for the community of Kirklees.”