Dudley College plan hailed as advance for town
Dudley College's latest multi-million town centre development has secured the unanimous backing of councillors who heralded the scheme for boosting manufacturing prospects of the region.
The £6.6 million advanced manufacturing and engineering base known as Dudley Advance will join other new education developments in the so-called Learning Quarter around the town.
It will be built on a car park that was once the home for Dudley Girls High School, in Priory Road, after the planning committee approved the scheme last night.
Specialist workshops, classrooms, resource centre and student welfare facilities will be among features based at the site. The building will replace outdated engineering departments on the Broadway campus.
Previous plans had earmarked the Broadway site for a revamp but councillors allowed the college to alter its plans to pursue the Priory Road development.
Committee member Councillor Qadar Zada said the scheme "cements Dudley as the hub for education" in the region.
"It tackles the skills shortage in manufacturing in the area," he said.
Fellow member Councillor Tim Wright said: "These developments act as a springboard for the regeneration of the town centre."
Dudley College has been awarded a £2.2m grant from the Skills Funding Agency – a third of the cost of the development of the Dudley Advance centre – in a bid to fund the opening of the centre by next year.
It will join new departments like Dudley Evolve, the college's new vocational training centre, and Dudley Sixth, a purpose-built sixth form centre.
Dudley Advance will have a heavy emphasis on the development of science, technology, engineering and maths.
