A college building in Stafford ravaged by fire more than two years ago is to rise from the ashes in a £13 million project, it has been announced.

Bosses at the Earl Street campus of Stafford College have devised a major project of re-building and re-design of the site where the old workshop building was struck by fire in April 2008 and left unusable since.

The ambitious plan is due to be submitted to the borough council in October and will be paid for out of the college’s existing resources.

Last year it was one of 79 colleges to have re-development projects axed by the Learning and Skills Council but now it seems the campus will get a new lease of life despite that setback.

The new buildings will feature an array of technology and provide areas for a variety of subjects including catering, beauty, restaurant trainees and beauty salons open to the public.

If given the go-ahead by the council the college have claimed the move would also be a boost to the local economy with the spending power of students benefitting shops in Stafford.