New £60m college campus unveiled
The new £60m Quarry Hill Campus at Leeds City College has been unveiled.
The nine-storey complex, which is due to open this summer, will house the college’s schools of Creative Arts and Social Science, well as facilities and space for Leeds College of Music which is based nearby.
The purpose-built facility will welcome approximately 3,000 students this summer, at the start of the 2019/20 academic year.
Around 100 politicians, civic and business leaders, academics and students visited the building to hear more about what the new building will mean for the college, its students, the city and wider region.
Colin Booth, chief executive and principal of the Leeds City College, said: “Our new campus at Quarry Hill is the result of years of hard work by our staff and partners. It represents a fantastic and inspiring new space for our students and staff, but also for the city and wider region. We’ve traced the formative years of our organisation back to 1819, so this year is of enormous historical importance to us, as our bicentenary.
“The development represents a bridge between the fascinating past of this part of the city and our shared future. The realisation of this project is testament to the drive and determination of our people over many years and wouldn’t have been possible without assistance from stakeholders across the region and further afield.”
The project has received £33.4m funding from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), delivered by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, through the Leeds City Region Growth Deal – a £1bn package of Government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.
Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), added: “Quarry Hill Campus represents the culmination of years of planning, the result of which will be an enormous asset in the development of skills and creation of jobs in the Leeds City Region.
“Through Growth Deal funding, we’ve been able to invest in these fantastic new facilities, which will help meet skills demand in important sectors such as healthcare and social care, as well as developing talent in growing creative industries in the region.”
The Quarry Hill Campus will be one of the first projects delivered as part of the £300m redevelopment of the area. The building has been designed to be tailored to the teaching areas due to move in, to the extent that no two rooms are the same.
Jake Berry, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, said: “This Government is committed to boosting economic growth across the whole of the Northern Powerhouse and building a country that works for everyone.
“I am delighted that this £33m Growth Deal investment will provide state-of-the-art facilities at the new Leeds City College Quarry Hill campus and help students develop the skills needed to succeed in the workplace.”
“Not only will this project boost employment prospects for local young people, it also supports businesses by developing the region’s highly skilled workforce and contributes to our wider Growth Deal plan to transform the city’s prospects for the future.”
