New college campus provides £10m boost to supply chain

The new Quarry Hill Campus at Leeds City College has provided a boost to the city’s construction industry as £10m worth of project contracts have been awarded to local businesses.

The main contractor, Wates Construction, began construction work at the campus in July 2017 and has so far awarded £10.2m of sub-contracts to suppliers in Leeds, with a further £6.5m of contracts delivered by suppliers and subcontractors from the wider West Yorkshire county.

Leeds-based businesses that have supported the delivery of the new Quarry Hill campus include Howard Civil Engineering, Sparta Systems, Planet Partitions and Metallic Fabrications.   

The announcement comes as Wates enters the final phase of construction at the £57m campus, which will be home to Leeds City College’s School of Creative Arts and School of Health, Care and Public Services.

Paul Dodsworth, managing director of Wates Construction North, said: “Leeds City College’s new Quarry Hill Campus is an important development for the city; it will enrich Leeds’ excellent educational offer and provide state-of-the-art facilities at the heart of the cultural quarter.

“As a main contractor that has a long-established presence in Yorkshire, we are always keen to work with local supply chain partners to ensure project budgets are reinvested into the local economy. This was a huge focus for the project team at the new Quarry Hill campus; the project has such local significance, it was incredibly important to put local businesses at the centre of its creation.”

Michael Diaz, director of Capital Projects at Leeds City College, added: “This new facility represents a major investment in education and skills in the Leeds City Region and is an important milestone in the history of Leeds City College.

“Our project has benefitted from £33.4m funding from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) through the Leeds City Region Growth Deal, delivered by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and it is only right that local firms and employees see the benefits of the trust that has been placed in our plans.

“Working alongside project partners and stakeholders, such as Leeds City Council, has allowed us to all take great pride in a project that will help create an inspiring learning environment, whilst regenerating this part of the city. All our contractors have worked incredibly hard to get us to this point. We’re now in the final stages of creating this world-class educational facility, that will benefit students for generations to come.”