Contract put out for £5.7m college
TWO Greater Manchester colleges have put out a £5.7m tender for the construction of a new site at a former Rolls Royce factory in East Manchester.
The Manchester College is working with Bridge College – a specialist further education college in Stockport for young people with disabilities and special needs – to construct a new building in Openshaw for both institutions’ students.
Manchester City Council’s urban regeneration company New East Manchester has already acquired the land and carried out remediation with a £3.6m Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) grant.
The proposed development, due to open in September 2012, will provide specialist teaching and learning for disabled and disadvantaged young people and adults. The campus, which will replace the existing Bridge College in Offerton, will offer speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, and hydro and occupational therapies.
The 28,000 sq ft project has been divided into two phases. The first, which is fully funded, includes the main building, a link bridge and landscaping works. The secon – an additional teaching wing with a value of £1.1m – will only go ahead if the Together Trust, the Cheadle-based children’s charity which runs Bridge College, raises enough from donations.
Chief executive David Marriott said: “The move represents an important step for Bridge College and the Together Trust, and moreover, is a radical and positive development for those with special education needs in the region.”
A detailed planning application has been submitted, with building works scheduled to begin in June 2011.
