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NEW COLLEGE FOR WALSALL ONE STEP CLOSER AS PREPARATION WORKS START ON-SITE - 23rd January 2007
The new Business and Learning Campus for Walsall moved one step closer this week as preparation for construction started on-site at Littleton Street. Marking this ground breaking event Chris Ball, Principal and Chief Executive of Walsall College, was joined on Tuesday 23 January 2007 by members of the Walsall First group to officially launch the operation.
The new College Campus is the first stage in the Walsall First investment programme and forms a major plank in the wider schedule of regeneration being driven forward by the Walsall Regeneration Company (WRC). Attending the occasion Dr Peter Cromar, Chief Executive of the WRC said: “Skills are the key to the economic regeneration of Walsall and the West Midlands and I am delighted to see the College’s exciting plans for a new learning facility now starting to take shape.”
Over the last two years Walsall College has focused on making sure it is well-placed to not only put skills at the centre of regeneration but to take that agenda forward for future generations of students.
As Chris Ball explained: “To support UK industry as it competes in the global marketplace and to strengthen the economic future of the region, we need to provide young people in Walsall with the relevant skills, commercial aptitude and valid work experience they need for modern jobs.
“In the last year we have re-focused our curriculum so that it is fully-engaged with employer’s needs in the region. Recent investment in strategic partnerships with companies like Apple, Microsoft and Roland has led to a series of industry-focused Academies that have kick-started a step-change in perception and achievement at the College. Pass rates this year have leapt to 86% compared to a national benchmark of 77%. Walsall College is now considered a 100% vocational College and (as at November 2006) is considered the market leader in the Black Country for vocational studies
“As with these developments in terms of learning provision, preparation on-site at Littleton Street marks the start of new physical foundations for Walsall College. I am delighted that my fellow members of Walsall First are here to support us as we move forward to the next stage of our development programme – providing the students of Walsall with a cutting edge learning facility fit for the modern economy.”
Preparation work on-site is being carried out by Cheetham Hill Construction and is expected to be complete by early summer this year. The main building contractor will be appointed in the summer with completion of the new Campus scheduled for 2009.
Extra courses in construction have been rolled-out at the College to help interested students to benefit as much as they can from the massive regeneration taking place in the region. Practicing what they preach, Walsall College is keen to make sure that the local economy benefits from this initiative and plans to include the use of local labour wherever possible.
As soon as the new Campus is ready and fully fitted-out, the College will be able to hand over its existing premises at St Paul’s to Tesco who have secured outline planning permission to develop the site into a major new foodstore for Walsall as part of the Walsall First investment programme.
Summing up Councillor Adrian Andrew, Walsall Council Cabinet member for regeneration, said: “It is great to see work start on this exciting project which will play a central part in the ongoing success of a rejuvenated borough. Walsall Council is delighted to be a key partner in this major project - another piece in the jigsaw of regeneration in Walsall.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Walsall First is an initiative between Walsall College, Tesco, Walsall Regeneration Company and Walsall Council to deliver a state of the art Business and Learning Campus and new Tesco store in the town centre.
Designed to support the town and its wider borough with skills and commercial confidence, the development is widely viewed as the foundation and the driver behind helping Walsall play a key role in the Black Country and Birmingham city regions. It is actively supported by Advantage West Midlands, the Black Country Consortium and the Learning and Skills Council.
The new Business and Learning Campus is one of eight schemes which together will deliver more than 5,500 new jobs, around £755 million in public and private sector investment and more than 1,600 new homes in the borough over the next 10 to 15 years.
For further information please contact:
Karen West: PR for Walsall College
T: 01234 718609
E: km.west@btinternet.com
John Beaty: Marketing Manager, Walsall College
T: 01922 657013
E: jbeaty@walsallcollege.ac.uk