Despite Stockport Colleges previous capital investment of 38 million between 2007 and 2015, the main campus had several challenges at the time of merger, including:
- most of the buildings were in a poor condition (68% in category C)
- the estate was too big for the number of students (space utilisation circa 10%)
- the suitability of many buildings was poor
The college had sold most of the Wellington Road campus to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) with a 5-year leaseback. This was on the assumption that it would have new fit for purpose premises in the town centre by 2021.
The Trafford and Stockport merger was due to be completed in April 2018, with the development of the Stockport campus being a condition of the merger. At the time, Stockport Council favoured the option to build a college campus above a new bus interchange.
Before the merger, the college was required to complete a reassessment of the preferred property solution at pace, working with:
- Stockport Council
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)
- Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
- Transaction Unit
- HCA, the owner of the Stockport campus freehold since 2016
- Barclays, the main lender to Trafford College
Refurbishment and redevelopment
As part of is merger proposals, TCG secured financial support for a 23 million redevelopment of the main Wellington Road campus in Stockport. This redevelopment involved:
- repurchasing the properties sold to the HCA
- constructing new buildings
- refurbishing parts of the existing estate
- demolishing some of the estate
- selling surplus buildings for redevelopment whilst at the same time maintaining business as usual for students
The target completion date was originally September 2020, but due to delays the redevelopment is now expected to be complete by December 2022.
This is due to:
- unforeseen complications with asbestos removal despite having an up-to-date asbestos register
- changes to the design of the new estate, partly to avoid increased cost
- the inability to reach financial close with the original contractor
- financial failure of the second contractor
- COVID-19 complications during lockdown
By summer 2020 the completed works were the refurbishment of the Vernon Tower (3,131 square metres) and the construction of the Vernon Workshop (2,806 square metres), which is an arts workshop and classroom space.
The listed Greek Street building (2,318 square metres) and university centre (1,822 square metres) were sold to a developer, and the Lyme Centre (10,942 square metres) was leased back to the college pending the completion of the new build.
The final stages of the redevelopment at Stockport include:
- all campus buildings being of category A or B condition
- removal of around 8,000 square metres of surplus floor area
- achieving the BREEAM Very Good or Excellent standard for all buildings
- creating a compact campus that delivers all teaching on a single site owned by the college corporation
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