New college extension work gets under way (From Swindon Advertiser)

New college extension work gets under way

4:00pm Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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WORK has started on a multi-million pound extension at New College.

Old foundations from a previous college building are being dug up to make way for a £10m annexe on New College Walk, off Queens Drive.

Construction will start on the 5,300 square metre facility in October and a website has been set up to keep students and residents up to date.

Graham Taylor, New College principal, said: “It’s nice to get it under way. After all the planning and applications, it’s for real now.”

“We’ve set up a website for the neighbours, visitors, students and staff. We have got to work closely together to make sure everyone has the information.

“It’s such a big building and we’re going to do our level best to make things as smooth as possible.”

The extension, which is being paid for by the college, will increase the college’s capacity by 35 per cent.

He said: “We’re dedicated to providing the best learning environment for the people of Swindon. The new annexe will help us achieve this.”

The four-storey building will provide space to expand science, maths, health and beauty, creative and media, and business and enterprise.

“Year on year enrolments at New College have increased and currently the college is running at full capacity. To enable us to provide a quality education to every learner we need to expand,” he said.

“Our aim is for the entire community to benefit from this development,” he said.

The project is expected to take 37 weeks to complete.

Mr Taylor said: “There’s never been a better time to build because of the economy.

“We’ll have a little bit of money left over for learning resources.”

Visit newcollege.ac.uk/ buildingyourfuture to track progress and give feedback.