Non-profit organisation secures lease for former college building
The Birmingham-based organisation, YMCA Wellington has now received the lease for a former college building in Wellington, Telford, which is being transformed into new housing for young people.
The grade II listed former girls’ high school building at the New College site on King Street was built in 1911-1912 and is now being repurposed to create 28 one-bedroom apartments.
Work started on the £3.9m project in March 2023, with MORRO Partnerships delivering the refurbishment programme.
The building has now officially been handed over to the YMCA, which will manage the housing project once completed in April 2024.
Telford & Wrekin Council acquired the building in 2019 as part of the former new college site and has provided funding support to refurbish the building and create the new apartments.
The development also includes communal facilities including a training room, laundry, staff housing management office, shared waste and recycling facilities, secure cycle storage, charging points and communal garden areas.
Councillor Lee Carter said: “We’re pleased to see work on this building progressing well and YMCA taking on the lease to manage the building. This project is restoring a Grade II listed building at the former New College site but also creating high-quality transitional accommodation to support young people who find themselves homeless in our community.”
Mandie Mulloy, CEO of YMCA Wellington, said: “YMCA Wellington has been working towards obtaining move-on accommodation for the last nine years and next year’s opening of this building marks a new chapter for us in our almost 165 years of service to people in the local area. Following the very difficult time post Covid when lots of new builds and refurbishments were put on hold due to interest rate and material cost increases, we are thrilled to have been able to keep moving with this development.
“This is such an exciting time for YMCA Wellington, in just six months we will be able to move young people from our supported housing to this new development which allow them to progress to the next stage of their journey. We are so incredibly thankful to all our partners who have made the project possible.”
