College begins £20m scheme to build new campus

Harrogate College is replacing its main building and building a renewable energy skills hub as part of a new £20m campus.

The upgrade will include a mock hospital ward, digital technology suite, electric vehicle workshop and a construction centre focused on modern building methods.

Preliminary works started earlier this month, with full construction beginning in March and due to complete in summer of 2025, when staff will move to the new buildings and the old campus demolished. £16m of the funding for the new buildings has come from the Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Transformation Fund.

Danny Wild, principal of the college, part of the Luminate Education Group, said, ““The resulting, purpose-built facilities will allow us to keep producing the highly skilled
individuals that our region’s businesses need, now and for decades to come.

“It will also allow us, while building on our close collaboration with local employers, to consolidate our position as the leading local provider of T Levels – the new, work-focused alternative to A-levels that are becoming increasingly popular.”

A key focus of the upgraded campus will be on teaching sustainable technology skills. The college has pledged to become net zero by 2035 and will incorporate energy efficient systems into the new buildings.

Harrogate firm Energy Oasis recently trained college tutors to fit and wire PV solar panels to they can teach the skills to students. Founder Mike Kaye said, “This is one of the fastest growing areas in the economy and the more people, whether they are just starting off or looking for a career change, who can be trained up in these skills and
deployed into the workforce, the better.”

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones added: “As well as enhancing the facilities available to Harrogate College students, this £20 million new campus will bring many broader benefits to Harrogate, Knaresborough and the wider area.”