Planning permission granted for new £18m Institute of Technology in Stafford

Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) aim to open the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology in December 2024.

The new three storey centre will be built on land vacated by construction and skills centre at Palmbourne Industrial Estate on Castle Street, Stafford with building work scheduled to begin during late summer.

The College will relocate all Palmbourne-based provision to a brand new state-of-the-art £28 million Skills and Innovation Centre on the Earl Street/Broad Street elevation of its main campus at the end of the current academic year.

The IoT will bring together key industry, education and research opportunities to the county and will see employers and academia working collaboratively to widen participation in targeted STEM areas.

The consortium, led by NSCG, is supported by key education providers and employers including Keele University, Burton and South Derbyshire College, Axia Solutions, Siemens, Moog Aircraft Group, Dell, Hitachi Energy and St Modwen Logistics.

NSCG’s Principal and Chief Executive, Craig Hodgson, said: “We are delighted that the plans have been approved and would like to thank council planners for their support and positive response to our vision.

“We are already making strides in shaping new higher-level technical curriculum in response to the skills needs of our region, and the new building which is set to open in 2024, will give us even greater opportunity to educate and train people in those vital digital, construction and the built environment and health science skills that are so desperately needed by employers.

“We are proud to bring this exciting new facility to the heart of Stafford and excited to see the significant impact it will have on the entire Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire region.”

The IoT will provide advanced manufacturing and engineering qualifications and will see educators and industry working together to jointly design, develop and widen education and training opportunities.

Professor Mark Ormerod, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at Keele University, added: “The new Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology is a hugely important and exciting development for this region, one which will provide great opportunities for education and skills provision in key technology areas of digital and green technologies, construction and the built environment and the health sciences, which are vital to the region’s economic regeneration.

"We are delighted to be the higher education partner for the Institute of Technology, working in partnership with Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group, Burton and South Derbyshire College as further education partners, and major industry partners, and also extend Keele University’s physical footprint into Stafford."