News: LSC to review college building programme finances

In the same month as RCAT secured planning permission for a proposed £70m campus development in Rotherham town centre, the Learning & Skills Council announced they are to review their Building Colleges of the Future programme. The LSC state that the pace of demand for funding by colleges overall has increased. This is because projects and the scale of Government funding they require are becoming increasingly ambitious. In addition there are early signs that the ability of colleges to raise their own funds for to help pay for proposed projects is being affected by the downturn. Many proposed schemes rely on either the sale of land or other assets and on the ability of colleges to gain financial support from the banks. This may have an affect on the private funding available for schemes. The LSC has been working closely with colleges that intend to submit bids to look at the individual current positions before making further funding decisions. As a result of this the consideration of a small number of applications that were due for decision – both in principle and in detail – has been deferred from December to March.
RCAT website
Rotherham