Work is scheduled for the newly refurbished town centre college in Wellingborough and is set to be open in September to 1,000 students and staff.
The tower block can now be seen and includes the Tresham College signage the tower block is part of the £10 million project.
After the cladding work was officially declared complete, Martin Griffiths the Wellingborough Council Leader said: “This is amazing news for the local area on so many levels – opportunities for young people, future growth across north Northamptonshire, the local economy and jobs, life-long learning, and of course for Tresham College as part of The Bedford College Group.
“It also gives a clear message that Wellingborough’s doors are open as we continue to grow and prosper”.
Councillor Griffiths represents North Northamptonshire on the board of SEMLEP
He was joined by Lucinda Young who is the Programme Contracts Manager of SEMLEP. She said “This is all about providing good quality facilities for people to come to learn and enjoy.
“We are working to tackle a big skills agenda for our area and The Bedford College Group has an important role in upscaling and re-skilling our workforces and young people about to enter the world of work.”
The Church Street campus is partially open throughout the work but only for students with motor vehicles.
There will now be the reintroduction of full-time courses including:
- Carpentry
- Plumbing
- Business
- Brickwork
- Electrical
- Early years and social care
- IT
- Computing
There will also be part-time courses available in accountancy, counselling, HR (CIPD) and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), amongst many other courses.
There will be open events hosted in the summer to welcome people to see the lower floors and also to sign up for courses starting in September.
The Wellingborough campus is part of Tresham College which merged with Bedford College in 2017 to form The Bedford College Group.
They were awarded £7.5 million from SEMLEP after an application for funding via the Local Growth Fund.
The CEO of College Group, Ian Pryce CBE laid the first cladding panel late last year with project manager Mark Eustace. Ian said “We have added to the generous SEMLEP grant to complete this £10m investment in new facilities and courses which will be a tremendous lift for education in Wellingborough and the wider region.
“Further, it will be a great boost for the two centre to have this influx of new customers of all ages.
“We are grateful to the Borough Council of Wellingborough and its members and officers for all their help and support in this interim period.”
Mr Eustace added: “We have improved an old building, recycled 150 tonnes of materials and at the peak had 70 working on site.
“We have given the site an extended life of 50 years which will be a great asset to the local community.”
The campus is easily accessible due to its town centre location, with nearby bus stops as well as on-site car parking for 90 vehicles, including electric charging points.
Wellingborough Councils have supported the landscaping at the front of the building.
Tresham’s next information event will be held on Tuesday, March 31, at the Tithe Barn, 5pm to 7:30pm.