Bournemouth and Poole College’s ‘bitter blow’ over £130m plan delay (From Bournemouth Echo)

Bournemouth and Poole College’s ‘bitter blow’ over £130m plan delay

7:00am Wednesday 1st July 2009

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THE multi-million pound transformation of Bournemouth and Poole College has been dealt a funding blow that will delay plans for up to two years.

With the government announcing on Monday that funds for an extra 30,000 social homes would come from health, education and transport budgets, money has run out for college building projects.

Further education minister Kevin Brennan said that just 13 colleges have been given the cash to proceed, leaving more than 160 colleges floundering.

The college was hoping to get final approval from the Learning and Skills Council(LSC) for the £130million project, which included demolishing and rebuilding the North Road site in Poole and renovating Bournemouth’s Lansdowne campus.

But, after spending £9m towards the works, the college was left in suspense when the LSC, which was set to provide 80 per cent of the money, postponed a decision.

An independent review concluded the LSC ran out of money because of poor management.

College principal Lawrence Vincent said: “I am profoundly disappointed. We feel our project should have been one of those to proceed, not just because of the work and the costs involved to date, but because all along we were led to believe that our project met all the assessment criteria.

“It has come as a bitter blow to learn that not a single project in the South West has been approved. We shall be seeking recompense from the LSC.”

The LSC said a new stage of consultation would begin in the autumn for those colleges that had not been successful and that there was a contingency fund for colleges that had incurred costs up to this stage.

Cllr Tony Woodcock, Poole council’s cabinet member for children’s services, called the news “very disappointing”.

“Unfortunately, in the current climate, cutbacks are being made.”

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