CITY College Brighton and Hove has unveiled a “more modest” vision for its central campus redevelopment with its previous £79 million scheme now dubbed “unaffordable”.
The newly unveiled £36 million redevelopment of the Pelham Street campus would be half funded by the college and match funded with £18 million of public money.
The college’s chief executive Nick Juba said the revisions were required to avoid “saddling” the college with debt.
It is the latest in a number of proposals for the site's future and a significant reduction to the £79 million project that received planning permission in December 2013.
The latest plans would see a complete refurbishment of the existing 11-storey tower and a new Centre for the Creative Industries in the north side of the car park specialising in creative, digital and IT sector.
The college hopes to create hundreds of advanced and higher apprenticeships in the field within the next five years.
The scheme would require an enabling development of around 125 homes on the east of Pelham Street or alternatively a new secondary free school for the city as one of two options being considered.
A further 30 homes are proposed for the current car park site in addition to around 715 square metres of space for digital companies and start-ups as well as a square similar in size to Jubilee Square.
The college has been looking to redevelop the site for more than eight years, previous plans unveiled three years ago included a new eight-storey teaching building, a ten-storey tower of 442 student accommodation rooms and up to 125 homes.
The new plans would see teaching facilities at the site reduce from 15,000 square metres to 12,000 square metres but retaining about 3,000 square metres more than the previous proposals.
The college is expecting to find out in October whether it is successful in obtaining Local Growth Fund finances before launching a public consultation scheme.
Mr Juba, who joined the college in September, said the new campus site would play a central role in the college’s plans to create a new Institute of Arts and Technology as part of a proposed merger with Northbrook College creating an institute for 10,000 students.
He said: "These are just proposals at this stage, these are just broad brush strokes.
"This college has a history of trying to solve the difficulties with our buildings many times and I am loathe to add to that history.
"We have gone through a very careful process looking at what we currently offer and what we want to offer for the future and what space we need to do that.
"We think can do that in a more modest way than we do at the moment."
BOSS SAYS COLLEGE IS DEDICATED TO STAYING TRUE TO ROOTS
CITY College Brighton and Hove’s new boss has said the college will remain true to its roots through any future redevelopment.
Nick Juba told The Argus the college was committed to offering a broad range of courses while attempting to increase its focus on creative, digital and IT skills as part of its proposed £36 million campus redevelopment.
Mr Juba said: “We have a duty to the local community to provide that really broad offer of all studies.
“We have to offer a broad range of studies on a broad range of levels, that is so important and that is not going to change, the Pelham campus will continue to offer that broad range of courses.
“We have a responsibility to get local people into exciting and emerging industries, encouraging children to look at industries where there are strong career opportunities and that includes the creative and digital sectors.”
The college has gone from a £9 million deficit just two years ago to running a small surplus and Mr Juba said any redevelopment plans would not be allowed to weaken the college’s financial position.
Mr Juba said funding for the sector was not as readily available as when previous chief executive Lynn Thackway unveiled more ambitious redevelopment plans three years ago.
He said: “I was not there at the time, so I’m not quite clear how the college would have financed the £60 million development, I’m not quite sure of the thinking behind that.
“In order to make the college a sustainable organisation I would not want to take on any proportion of borrowing debt that city college is not in a position to repay. I don’t want any new scheme to saddle the college with debt.”
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