News: Demolition starts at Rotherham town centre campus

Demolition of the Starting Point block at the Rotherham College of Art & Technology (RCAT) town centre campus has begun in preparation for a £7m new build.

Last December, college governors approved the first of a five phase development for the campus that will eventually see large scale changes to the college estate.

Planning permission was secured for a £70m redevelopment in January 2009, the same month as the much publicised national debacle regarding the allocation of capital funds for projects by the Learning & Skills Council.

Since then, the college has conducted a reappraisal of its development plans and determined that a new proposal will now be pursued.

The £7m Phase 1 will provide a new focal point entrance for the campus development, with classrooms and facilities equipped to modern standards. The new building will link to the existing advanced manufacturing facilities and provide an improved environment for the development of higher level and technical skills courses.

Leading Rotherham-based demolition specialist Ron Hull has been appointed to carry out the work, which will be completed in time for student enrolment in September. Construction is planned to begin in November 2010 with the new building and substantial refurbishments being completed in time for summer 2011 enrolment.

Elaine Woodhams, Interim Principal and Chief Executive said: "This is an important first step in the college's quest to continually update and maintain first class learning facilities for Rotherham students.

"All students deserve excellent facilities to support their learning in preparation for a competitive employment market. Equally, employers demand state of the art facilities in order to ensure their staff members are trained at the cutting edge of their industry.

"Phase 1 of the five part plan for the Town Centre Campus will improve access, safety and learning facilities and will provide even better opportunities for our students."

David Wall, Commercial Director of Ron Hull Demolition added: "The redundant structure is a 1960s reinforced concrete and brick two-storey building. Demolition work is scheduled to take seven weeks, by which time the site will be cleared, with all of the materials removed for recycling.

"From our point of view, the project is pretty straightforward. There is a live gas main on the site and the building is linked to another structure that is not being demolished, but our teams have extensive experience of dealing with these things.

"The site is in the centre of town and close to shops and the market. We would assure traders and local people that we will be doing everything we can to keep disruption to an absolute minimum."

RCAT website
Ron Hull website

Images: RCAT