New Chelmsford College project not going ahead (From Chelmsford Weekly News)

New Chelmsford College project not going ahead

9:50am Thursday 9th July 2009

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A SCHEME that would have seen a multi million pound state of the art college buillt on a prime site in Chelmsford looks to have been sunk.

The news last week that Chelmsford College would not get funding from the Learning and Skills Council for the project has been met with disappointment and frustration by those involved with it.

In April Chelmsford Council which owns land at the Waterside Peninsula announced a land swap with the college in which a new college would be built on the land and the council would get the college’s two campuses at Moulsham Street and Princes Road in return.

But a spokeswoman for the college said it would be 2013/14 at the earliest before funding for the scheme could be made available.

Willis Field, director of client services, said they were “ really disappointed” that the project could not go ahead.

“The future of the college is secure. We shall now have to look at ways of making our present accommodation better.”

The Moulsham Street campus was opened in 1962 and the Princes Road one in 1989.

Ms Field said: “You need better and more flexible facilities nowdays with the ways of teaching. We need to look at utilising better the facilities we have.

“We were perhaps more hopeful than realistic that we would get the funding to go ahead. We had the land and the plans ready to go.”

Roy Whitehead, leader of Chelmsford Council, said: “We share the college’s disappointment. We had not entered into a final agreement because the college was waiting to see if it would get the funding to go ahead.

“Now the land is available. We could not put it aside for five years - that would not be in the council tax payers interest.

“Developers have shown an interest in it and we shall have to wait and see what happens.”

And Simon Burns, MP for Chelsmford, described the news as “a tragedy for the town.”

He said: “Chelmsford College had an ambitious and exciting scheme to move from its current site in Moulsham Street to a new purpose built site near the Essex Record Office which would have created an exciting centre of excellence for further education in the town.

“Sadly due to Government cutbacks and the Learning and Skills Council, they have lost out on any funding for this scheme which almost certainly means it will not be able to go ahead.”

Mr Burns added that the college could end up losing about £850,000 which was spent on planning and designing the project but he hoped they would be able to get some of the money back.

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